CHELSEA BID FOR BATTERSEA
Chelsea have made their first major move in order to secure their future in a new stadium after it was revealed that the club had made a bid for the Battersea Power Station. The Battersea Power Station is one of the iconic locations in England, but it is also one of the few areas where Chelsea can build a new 60,000 seater stadium. It has been the vision of the club for a number of years now, but they are in a broil with the Chelsea Pitch Owners over the sale of the Stamford Bridge pitch. The CPO currently holds the pitch in order to prevent any real estate developers from claiming their ground.
However, Chelsea are looking to generate a significant portion of the costs required to construct a new stadium through the sale of flats on the existing area surrounding Stamford bridge. Hence, a potential move to the Battersea Power Station would be unviable if Chelsea fail to secure the rights from the CPO. Yet, the club have said that they are confident about achieving success in their attempts to see Chelsea move to a larger stadium. Chelsea have already stated that they cannot compete with the rivals with their current capacity of 42,000, while expanding Stamford Bridge is also unviable due to the location.
“There is no certainty we will be successful. We must also stress that making an offer for the Battersea Power Station site does not mean the club has made a definitive decision to leave Stamford Bridge,” said statement on the official website of Chelsea. “That hasn’t changed. I am still not convinced the club have exhausted every possible avenue for redeveloping our ground, I just don’t believe they have,” said a CPO shareholder in reference to their preference of staying at Stamford Bridge.