Todd Boehly could have a surprise new way to ensure that Chelsea's desired stadium progress happens sooner rather than later. Stamford Bridge in its current state can house over 40,000 fans per match but still pales in comparison to newer, modern grounds in the Premier League.
It has been a long-term bugbear for the club with rivals Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Brentford among the teams to have moved to a new ground in the past 20 years. Meanwhile there have been expansions at Anfield and also at the Etihad Stadium again.
Such is the location of Stamford Bridge there is no simple answer though, with a tube station in close proximity and little land to build on. Relocation is also off the cards due to the power held by the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO).
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Boehly and Co are keen to make a start on fresh plans with the ground in order to waste as little time as possible but have run into similar problems as Roman Abramovich did. With a pledge to invest and transform the ground, the next step may be just around the corner.
According to the Daily Mail there is a new plan in place in order to get the wheels moving, including the possibility of playing matches at Twickenham, Wembley and even Fulham's Craven Cottage. During a process which could see the current ground knocked down in order to build up a completely fresh stadium, this could take as long as four years.
The cost of such a project is also not going to be cheap, with a prospective £2bn needed in order to make Stamford Bridge into a new 60,000 seater stadium. In order to make such a dream become reality Boehly reportedly contacted Fulham owner and fellow American billionaire Shahid Khan.
There is also the possibility that games could yet be split across the stadiums with most league games being played at neighbours Fulham - who are yet to open their own renovated stand - and higher category matches at the bigger available grounds. The Cottagers themselves had to ground-share with QPR previously.
As for hosting matches at the home of English rugby, the Blues are said to have contacted the RFU over the possibility of playing games there with a push to host more non-rugby events.
When asked about the club's plans for the stadium earlier this season, new director Jonathan Goldstein said: "It's one of the great questions that everyone is asking. The fact that people need to be aware of is that there is no existing planning permission on the site.
"There was planning permission but it's lapsed so we have to start again. We're at the beggining of that process and obviously there's two alternatives. You either redevelop the existing stadium of you take it down and build a new one on the site.
"We're very tight at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea Pitch Owners are part of that process and we're going through our own educational process, we will then consult with fans and local authorities. I would hope that over the next 12 to 18 months you will be able to invite me back and I'll be able to tell you how we intend to take that forwards.
"We're really focused on understand the locality and understanding what we've got at Stamford Bridge and maximising the opportunity and the excitement for the fans."
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