Chelsea don't have to pay rent costs for their stadium and currently keep all match-day revenues, but they don't own the land that Stamford Bridge sits on. In 1993, because of the possibility that developers could take over the land and leave the team homeless, a company called Chelsea Pitch Owners Plc purchased the land to protect the stadium with no intention of making a profit, then leased the ground to the club for next to nothing. Now, with Chelsea's ownership situation stable and the club in no financial difficulty, the club is making an offer to purchase the land.
Chelsea FC Makes Proposal To Buy Land On Which Stamford Bridge Sits
Chelsea FC have made a proposal to buy the land that Stamford Bridge sits on, presumably as a step towards eventually moving to a larger stadium.
The area around Stamford Bridge makes it difficult to expand the stadium, so it seems likely that this is a precursor to a move away from their current home for Chelsea. Obviously, the point of CPO is to keep the club from leaving the area, so Chelsea has added clauses in their offer to CPO to sweeten the pot.
The proposed transaction would also make it possible for CPO to offer to buy back shares from shareholders if it so wishes.
The club will enter into a legal commitment to CPO that no relocation will take place before 2020 unless it is within a three-mile radius of our current home.
That commitment will also set a new stadium capacity at a minimum of 55,000, and at least 10 per cent of those seats will be made available exclusively to families and supporters under 21 years of age.
Currently, Stamford Bridge has a capacity of 41,841, which means that Chelsea makes significantly less money on matchday revenue than rivals Manchester United and Arsenal. The Ethiad Stadium, home of Manchester City, seats 47,805. Both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are in the process of finding suitable situations for new grounds that will increase their matchday revenues as well.
For more on the Chelsea stadium situation and the team in general, check out SB Nation’s Chelsea FC blog We Ain’t Got No History.
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