In a statement, the club said that the new stadium project was ‘on hold’ and that ‘no further pre-construction design and planning work will occur’.
It added: “The club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decision. The decision was made due to the current unfavourable investment climate.”
Chelsea FC’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich has encountered difficulties getting his UK visa renewed amid mounting diplomatic tensions between the UK and Russia after the attempted assassination of a former Russian double agent in Salisbury. Mr Abramovich has subsequently taken Israeli citizenship, but he is still currently unable to work in the UK.
The ambitious stadium project has seen its budget spiral from £500m to £1bn during the planning process. The new stadium, on the site of its current Stamford Bridge home, has been designed by architect Herzog & de Meuron – which also designed the Birds Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing and Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. It would have increased Chelsea’s match-day capacity increase from 41,600 to 60,000.
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