Chelsea make decision over Stamford Bridge move – only if Todd Boehly loses bitter battle

Chelsea are considering their options, with Stamford Bridge currently only holding 40,000 spectators, but there is a difference of opinion in the boardroom over the best move

Chelsea will stay put at Stamford Bridge if Behdad Eghbali wins the ongoing battle against Todd Boehly to shape the future of the club.

The Blues are desperate to play inside a bigger stadium, with Stamford Bridge’s capacity of just over 40,000 holding them back. That makes it only the ninth largest in the Premier League and isn’t fit for purpose for Enzo Maresca’s side.

Their options are limited by the complicated situation on the current site, which is penned in by Fulham Road, the District Line and housing. Chelsea have therefore held talks over building a new stadium on a different site at Earl’s Court.

But the future of Chelsea is further confused by the simmering tensions between co-owners Eghbali and Boehly. The two are at loggerheads and have made it clear they want to buy each other out to take control of the situation.

Eghbali is co-founder of Clearlake Capital, who own 61.5 per cent of Chelsea and is a major player behind the scenes. He holds the stronger hand, given Boehly personally owns a 13 per cent stake of the club – and his say on the stadium issue could therefore be influential.

The Sun reports that Eghbali is in favour of redeveloping Stamford Bridge – the club’s home for over a century – rather than trying to relocate elsewhere. The American-Iranian businessman wants to push ahead with a £1.5billion renovation which could turn Stamford Bridge into a 55,000-seat stadium.

Despite Blues' chief executive Jason Gannon holding 'productive' talks with Transport for London over the Earl’s Court site, Eghbali reportedly thinks the idea is a non-starter. He would prefer Chelsea to improve what they’ve got, which would only require the team to play elsewhere for two years.

Chelsea could modernise the West Stand, build over the nearby train line or utilise land bought from veterans’ charity Stoll at a cost of £80m in October 2023. That is deemed preferable to demolishing Stamford Bridge to build an entirely new stadium, which would force the team to relocate for five years.

Any plans will have to be approved by Chelsea Pitch Owners, who are the owners of the freehold on Stamford Bridge. The Earl’s Court idea is the latest in a succession of suggested sites for a new Chelsea stadium, which has also included Battersea Power Station.

During the latter years of Roman Abramovich's time as Chelsea owner, the club explored the possibility of moving to Wembley for a period, just as Tottenham did while redeveloping White Hart Lane, to allow for necessary construction to take place.

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