Chelsea’s £500m stadium distraction fails after rejection from important body

An exclusive in the Guardian tonight claims that Chelsea have held talks over leaving Stamford Bridge for Earls Court, as the new ownership continue to try and figure out what next steps to take.

Increasing Stamford Bridge’s 42,000 capacity, or moving to a new site, is a “major priority” for the owners, and indeed has been cited as one of the main reasons for the dispute between the two main groups in the ownership. It’s a keystone part of their project to turn the club into a money-making machine. Someone’s got to pay Joao Felix’s wages, after all.

People pointed out this was all very convenient timing – just as their civil war hit the front pages, it was a case of: “oh look, over there! Something different to talk about!”

A long shot with a chance

If it was intended as a distraction from the worrying breakdown of relations at the top of the club, it hasn’t worked very well. Within an hour, the Earls Court Development Committee had Tweeted that there was “no football stadium within the masterplan” that they had presented to Hammersmith and Fulham council and Kensington and Chelsea council.

If planning permission is granted by those bodies, the ECDC will move on with their “mixed use development.” If they’re knocked back, it opens a door for Chelsea to try another go at moving to the local site. The masterplan will be presented next week – so it shouldn’t be too long until we know if there’s anything to come from this.

Even approval would be just the first step of many – from issues with the Chelsea Pitch Owners to the challenges of funding such a vast undertaking in one of the most expensive parts of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Still, stranger things have happened…