Todd Boehly has done most of the talking since taking over Chelsea, but fellow co-owner Hansjorg Wyss has now spoken about the club’s stadium situation.
In terms of size, Stamford Bridge pales in comparison to the home grounds of Chelsea‘s rivals, including the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham United — fellow teams from the capital — Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle United all have larger stadiums than Chelsea. As a result, the Blues are not able to bring in as much gate money.
Even the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan believes Chelsea need a bigger ground. However, it does not look like the club will be getting one any time soon.
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Hansjorg Wyss casts doubts on new stadium
One option for Chelsea is to build a new stadium on a site in Earl’s Court, and Wyss actually believes that would be the best course of action.
However, at this point, the 89-year-old has doubts about that happening and has explained why.
Speaking to a Chelsea fan channel, CHELSEA FAN TV, after the Blues’ 3-1 win against Liverpool last weekend, Wyss said: “Earl’s Court will be the best option we can think of. But if it’s going to happen, I don’t know. There’s a lot of obstacles and right now we don’t have one person who drives the project.
“That’s what we need, in the meetings, the directors’ meetings. Until we have one project, where someone says ‘I’m going to make it happen’, it’s not going to happen.”
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It is not just one off-the-pitch issue at Chelsea right now, with sponsorship being another problem. Chelsea currently have a deal with DAMAC, but that only came into play recently. For the majority of the season, the club have been playing without a front-of-shirt sponsor.
Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
Twickenham a temporary option for Chelsea
A lot of Chelsea supporters want to remain at Stamford Bridge, and that would include Chelsea Pitch Owners.
Expanding Stamford Bridge is a possibility, though there would be a lot of barriers to overcome. If that does happen, Chelsea could find themselves playing at Twickenham, the home of the England national rugby team, temporarily.
To catch up with some of their rivals financially, Chelsea need to find a solution. But if it were that simple, then the club would have been playing in a larger ground years ago.