Chelsea fans are having fun again and that fun looks set to continue with the announcement of the confirmation that they will remain at Stamford Bridge, but under one condition.
Since Todd Boehly and his partners took over the club, there have been talks of moving the Blues out of their historic home ground which was constructed in 1877 for use by the London Athletic Club of old before Augustus Mears founded Chelsea in 1905 and acquired the stadium for his new team.
To be fair, the ground was last renovated to provide extra seating in 1998, which expanded it to its current 40,173-seater capacity. Since then, the Cub has grown in leaps and bounds as a global brand, attracting more tourists and non-England-based fans to home games every match week than it can handle.
One of the requirements for Roman Abramovich’s sale of the club to buyers a little over two years ago was the commitment of a fund to improve the current state of the stadium. Boehly and partners, who acquired the club from the Russian oligarch, were believed to prefer a brand new stadium which was to be symbolic of the direction they wanted to take the club.
The fans were divided on this line of thought as presented by the media and several sources, but were not disappointed enough to stage protests against the ownership like a few other clubs’ fan bases have done. Regardless, the news that Boehly and co are no longer carrying on with plans to build a nw stadium will be music to their ears.
Reports indicate that Chelsea’s beloved home of over a century, Stamford Bridge, will instead be rebuilt into an ultra-modern stadium much like those that are currently being built all across Europe like the Spotify Camp Nou. The seating will increase to 55,000, with more executive suites provided to increase the current number from 51 to an undisclosed number.
There is a catch, however.
Boehly and Behdad Egbali, his principal partner, are currently locked in a boardroom tussle over the ownership and future of the club. Boehly still believes moving away from Stamford Bridge represents the club’s future but Egbali is adamant that the club should remain at Stamford Bridge.
Boehly has his sights set on a new 60,000-capacity venue at Earl’s Court, a parcel of land that the club acquired for another purpose. If he wins the ongoing boardroom tussle, he might have his way and the club.
Whatever happens with regards to Chelsea’s home ground future will be good for the club in the end, which is why the fans are having fun. The boardroom tussle, however, is not fun and the fans would rather see it end soon than continue to the point where it starts to affect things ont he field of play, just after results on that front are beginning to show.
