Chelsea Football Club have struggled and lost the battle to buy back their own pitch! The boardroom defeat may well jeopardise the Blues’ move into a new stadium, but Chelsea fans were keen to ensure that a ground move is already in place before they sell back the one asset they control.
The land that Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium was separated from the club back in the 1980s when, under Ken Bates, the club was struggling. By selling the land to thousands of fans they could ensure that there would always be a home for the club, regardless of whether the club went into bankrupcy or not.
Since then a lot has changed, not least Chelsea’s financial fortunes, with Roman Abramovic paying out to bring top players and managers to the club. The next logical step for Roman was to build up the stadium, especially with the Financial Fair Play rules coming in next year, but it looks like his management team will have to have a re-think.
Chelsea are looking at the various local options for a new stadium, but spaces for football stadia are few and far between in West London.
