Previously, Chelsea had aimed to renovate their current stadium stands, similar to Liverpool’s Anfield. In October last year, the owners of a housing estate adjacent to Stamford Bridge agreed to sell a plot of land adjoining the stadium to Chelsea for £80 million.
Although the deal has not been finalized, sources indicate that the club’s leadership has decided that carrying out the construction procedures and project planning, as well as addressing all related issues, would not be feasible.
Therefore, if The Blues are determined to stay at Stamford Bridge, their home since 1905, it means they would have to demolish the entire complex and refurbish it. Estimatedly, such a project would take about 6 years, forcing the club to rent a temporary venue like Wembley.
Chelsea has previously discussed building a new stadium at the former Earls Court exhibition center site, approximately 2 km away from their current stadium. However, purchasing land there alone would cost at least £500 million. A new stadium with a capacity of 60,000 seats similar to Tottenham’s new ground would require them to spend at least an additional £1 billion.
The Chelsea ownership group led by Boehly spent £2.5 billion to buy the club in 2022 and promised to invest an additional £1.75 billion. Since then, over £1 billion has been spent on players. However, the stadium project has been progressing very slowly.