Chelsea may not be moving to a new stadium but they could get help in revamping the one they play in now.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has pledged their willingness to help the club try to upgrade Stamford Bridge, the home of the Blues. The leader of the council, Cllr Nicholas Botterill, has said that he does not want to see Chelsea move and has been in touch with club officials to begin discussions about renovating the stadium.
"It now looks highly unlikely that CFC will be moving away from their historic home," he said. "The council remains committed to working with the club to explore all possible avenues for keeping the Blues here at their original home. The door is open and the council is again ready to sit down and discuss how Stamford Bridge can be appropriately upgraded so that it is fit for one of Europe's leading football clubs."
Chelsea recently lost out in their bid to acquire the property that houses the now-vacant Battersea Power Station. The site was instead purchased by two Malaysian companies, SP Setia and Sime Darby.
Chelsea currently plays at Stamford Bridge which has a capacity of 42,000, the eighth largest in the EPL. Their plan was to build a new 60,000-seat stadium in order to improve revenue and compete with clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal. When they announced their intention to bid on the property, the club insisted that they were not definitely committed to leaving Stanford Bridge but claimed it was not economically viable to renovate their current stadium.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council debated the club's claim that it would be less expensive to move than to refurbish the stadium. Since finding a site to build a new home has been so difficult, it seems as though Chelsea will have no choice but to improve Stamford Bridge.
