Construction News

Fri March 29 2024

Related Information

Chelsea consults on Stamford Bridge expansion

16 Jun 15 Consultants are exploring how the capacity of Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge stadium can be expanded given the physical constraints of the site.

Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge

Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich has put engineers, architects and surveyors to work to come up with a way of increasing stadium capacity.

Stamford Bridge currently holds fewer than 42,000 spectators, compare to 60,000 at the modern stadiums of rivals Manchester City and Arsenal and nearly 76,000 at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground.

Expanding Stamford Bridge capacity to 60,000 is likely to be tricky because it is hemmed in by roads and railway lines that even Abramovich’s wealth can easily relocate. Thoughts have therefore turned to total reconstruction rather than expansion but this is likely to involve three yeats of work during which time the team would have to play its home matches elsewhere.

In a statement issued yesterday (15th June 2015) Chelsea FC said: “A year ago a study of the area from Fulham Broadway to Stamford Bridge and beyond was commissioned by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich to examine the potential of upgrading the streetscape.

Related Information

“The study also began to assess the feasibility of an expansion of the stadium capacity within the existing historical site boundary, based on the principles of improving site access, benefiting the neighbourhood and enhancing the spectator experience.

“Mr Abramovich has appointed a professional team to assess, in more detail, the feasibility of expanding the existing stadium capacity at Stamford Bridge Grounds.

“The process now enters a further local consultation phase. This will include an explanation of the rationale for expansion, driven by spectator demand for more seats and the need to increase stadium revenue to remain competitive with our major rivals, this revenue being especially important under Financial Fair Play rules.

“Technical solutions for stadium capacity expansion are being investigated initially. This stage of the consultation will focus at present on discussing the rationale and technical solutions for expansion with residents and match-going spectators. Local stakeholders, neighbours, season ticket holders and club members will be invited to comment on the potential expansion. This feedback, which to date has assisted our progress in earlier stages, will continue to inform the next stage of the study.”

Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk

MPU
MPU

Click here to view latest construction news »