Chelsea offer £11 million a year to use Wembley Stadium while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped

Chelsea could move to Wembley Stadium while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped

Chelsea are said to have offered £11 million a year to use the Wembley Stadium while their stadium Stamford Bridge is being rebuilt, according to ESPN. The club is in need of a new stadium for three seasons from the 2017/18 season onwards after owner Roman Abramovich authorized a study last year to explore the possibility of expanding their SW6 home by increasing its capacity to 60,000 from the current capacity of 41,798.

Fellow rivals Tottenham Hotspur have offered only £8 million a year for the use of Wembley Stadium. They will also be relocating in the same period while their new stadium is being built, according to ESPN.

The iconic Wembley Stadium generates sizeable revenue from major events that are held throughout the year, including music concerts and NFL games and so, the board will need to take the matter of renting the stadium to any of the teams very seriously. Even if one of the teams are successful in their bids, they would not be able to use the stadium to its full 90,000-capacity because of the restrictions on the number of events that can be held at the stadium each year.

Chelsea have a backup option in Rugby Football Union’s Twickenham Stadium, which is the second largest stadium in United Kingdom after Wembley. The Blues had enquired about using the 82,000-capacity stadium last summer as a makeshift home.

But the Wembley Stadium is seen as a better alternative to the Twickenham Stadium as the latter faces many obstacles, including obtaining planning permission for an increase in events and objections from local residents among others.

New-look Stamford Bridge stadium inspired by Westminster Abbey

Last week, Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron had unveiled its plans for the new-look Stamford Bridge. The new design has been inspired by the gothic architecture of Westminster Abbey.

Architect Jacques Herzog told The Guardian, "We have tried to make it a place where people will really feel at home. I've never had that feeling so strongly as when I saw my first games in Liverpool and Manchester, how much you have this sense of a club's identity in the stadium in England -- more than anywhere else in Europe."

He added, "It's about creating something unique. Like Anfield - that is certainly not a nice stadium, but it has this amazing tradition."

The Blues have put aside £500 million for the entire redevelopment work, according to The Telegraph, as Roman Abramovich plans to turn Chelsea’s existing ground into a ‘cathedral of football’.