I see this old chestnut had come back to haunt us! Chelsea pitch owners (12000 in number) are about to be made an offer for their share by the club. This is the first step in the process to move us out of Stamford Bridge and to a new and bigger stadium within a 3 mile radius! As a blue who can recall standing on the high terraces when we only had a stand down one side of the stadium, I am very unhappy about this! I know Hammersmith & Fulham Council, for understandable reasons wont allow the enlargement of SB, but is this about keeping up with the Joneses or genuine need to have a bigger gate? SB is the only ground the Blues have had, and for me some of the magic will be lost if we have to play somewhere else, even if it is bigger. Just think--no more Shed, no more walking down the Fulham Rd. AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Would be the end of an era but how are we to compete financially with United & City without a gate of 60,000+? Roman has made a dynasty for his son to succeed and this would be one way he can make the club self-sufficient. Maybe we need to move on but I would feel like I'd lost something special.
Having seen some of the potential venues they are talking about (Wormwood Scrubs,White City) makes me more disappointed. They have said Battersea Park though, which if CPO sell back their stake, I would suffer as the best alternative.
I'd be gutted to move from the Bridge but surely the only one to compete long term. United and Arsenal have much bigger stadiums now and Liverpool and Spurs both trying to get into 60,000 seaters. We can't get left behind and re developing S.B seems to be a non starter.
Even West Ham will soon have a 60,000 seater. Sadly this seems to be the direction all clubs are heading. What most fans object to is the fact the club want people to sell shares without identifying I site, which IMO indicates they want to relocate to somewhere which the fans wouldn't be happy with. I said years ago, if we had to move, we should have gone Ealrs Court, it's just typical Chelsea, reacting rather than acting
Do you need a 60000 seater stadium? What are your attendances like on average? I know against lesser sides you have a reputation of empty seats but thats generally in europe against the minnows. Also why are chelsea acting like cheapskates over the fans who own the pitch or whatever it is. Surely you can offer much better than £100 and priority season tickets. Why not a free season ticket and £100? Smacks of cheap to me.
Be sad to leave but we need to do it, when these financial fair play rules come into play having a 60,000 seater will bring a extra revenue of 50million+ for us, as someone said above as well even west ham are moving to a 60,000, if we want to keep expanding our club it has to be done unfortunately as there is no work that can be done on our stadium to expand it
Chelsea have been ever present in the PL since it was first formed. Since the stadium in its present form was completed in 1997 the ground capacity has been somewhere around 41800. All PL games since then have been at or close to this number. The only variance is related to returns from the unsold away allocation. You may not be aware that Chelsea hold the record attendance for and English League match at 82905, so there is no question of our ability to fill a 60000 capacity stadium. Moving on to the Chelsea pitch owners offer,there was never a case for a "Bargain Hunt" transaction. Chelsea Pitch Owners , all 12000 of them are dyed in the wool Chelsea blue bloods, who only want the best for the club. Trying to make a profit from a trade like you suggest is the last thing most, if not all them them, wanted.In spite of that CFC will reward the CPO's with a modest "thank you", the way it should be!
I am not so attached to Stamford Bridge. Every thing that has taken place there will not be forgotten unless our civilisation is wiped by some global disaster. I suppose my attitude stems from the memories of moving on with my own life which meant moving from a much loved family home and then from my own first apartment where so much good happened. Realising that the places are just shells and the real warmth is still in my heart. Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my Chelsea shirt is on fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hot hot hot hot *runs around beating flames on chest with paws then rolls on floor till the fire dies* Phewwwwwwwwwwwwww that'll teach me to wear genuine premier league merchandise near a toaster. What was I saying? Ah yes moving on. My old schools, both had a certain feeling of a grand past to them, everyone would comment on it. I loved my schools and being there, and again fantastic memories, but one is now a theatre. So I do get attached to places and buildings, but one can not deny the truth when faced with it or indeed the logic and need and the drive and ambitions that life provides. Chelsea must benefit from a bigger ground. It will not be an unfilled white elephant. The club is the spirit of the people not the bricks and mortar.
Dfer----You are a born poet! Not a descendant of Oscar Wilde by any chance? I am also a romantic--and thats why I want to stay at SB!
I knew it wouldn't take long for a bitter to dip in and allege we couldn't fill a bigger stadium blah blah blah. There are plenty of games (particularly champs league knockouts and the bigger league games where even as a club member I have got nowehere near a ticket so whilst the current capacity gets us by on some games we'd sell thousands more on bigger games. Also with a higher capacity the price structure could be altered to get more bodies through the door and we will inevitably be picking up more and more fans due to our recent successes...this has to be about the future as well. As for the £100.00: it seems entirely fair and appropriate. The scheme was to protect the club not to make money out of in the future.
I have just written an article on the possible move to another stadium. If your not a shareholder it might be worth a read because I have included a list from the leaflet sent out to all shareholders. http://www.chelseatalk.co.uk I am not sure whether I am for or against the move. I love SB but we do need a bigger stadium?!
I remember when the Chelsea Pitch Owners thing was first created. I should have become an investor, but I didn't and I dont know why. It wasn't the money, so I guess it was because I didn't fully understand what CPO was all about. I remember buying £500 worth of shares in Cabra Estates who owned the freehold of SB,in a vain attempt to give them to the club to fight the sale of the ground. In the event Cabra went bankrupt and Ken Bates came along and bought us for a £1. Good old Ken ,without him we may not now exist!
It will be a shame to see an end to Stamford Bridge and it's seven years of history PELE is easily the most overated player of all time.He was just lucky he played with much better players like Tostao,Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto
