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Chelsea would reportedly have to spend six years away from Stamford Bridge if they chose to redevelop the stadium.
According to The Sun, the Blues have two options: redevelop their current ground or ‘pay over the odds’ to buy land and build elsewhere. The west London outfit may have to rent a temporary home such as Wembley – just as Tottenham did – if they went ahead with the Stamford Bridge regeneration.
The report adds that if Chelsea wanted to stay put, they would have to demolish the stadium and start from scratch. Conversely, the Blues have been linked with building a new ground at the former Earls Court Exhibition Centre a mile away – but just buying the land would cost £500 million ($636m) before construction begins. And if owner Todd Boehly went ahead with a £60,000-seater stadium, it could cost upwards of £1 billion ($1.27bn).
When Boehly took over the club in 2022 for £2.5bn ($3.1b), he promised to spend £1.75bn on players and a stadium project. While £1bn has already been spent on signings, progress on stadium plans have been much slower.
While Chelsea’s board try to push ahead with possible stadium redevelopment, the first-team are back in Premier League action on March 11 at home to Newcastle United in a battle between 11th and eighth respectively.