Chelsea have produced artist’s impressions of how a new stadium at Battersea Power Station would look, despite not being selected as preferred bidders to redevelop the site.
Last month, the Blues revealed they had submitted an application to move to the 39-acre site in Wandsworth, but administrators since confirmed a joint bid by two Malaysian companies had been chosen instead.
Chelsea posted the images on their club website but moved to reassure fans they were “not currently in discussions with the sellers of the site”, although adding, “we do not know if those negotiations will be successful or not.”
The European champions are considering moving away from their Stamford Bridge home as their existing capacity of around 42,000 is preventing them from bringing in the kind of match-day revenue enjoyed by the likes of rival clubs Arsenal and Manchester United, who have much bigger stadiums.
Chelsea revealed in plans last month that they intended to transform the Grade II listed building on the south bank of the River Thames into “one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world”.
Their plan for Battersea was to develop it into a 60,000-seater ground that included the power station’s four chimneys.
The club said: “We firmly believe our proposals could address the unique challenges presented by the site.
“The design would integrate the stadium with the power station in a sensitive, unique and powerful way, with all significant historical aspects of the power station to be retained.
“In creating an iconic world-class stadium we would preserve the four chimneys and wash towers along with the historically significant west turbine hall and control room, all to be restored and retained in their original locations.”
Wandsworth Council were happy with the administrators’ decision over Battersea, with preferred bidders SP Setia and Sime Darby given a 28-day period of due diligence – running to July 5 – to prove everything is in place to carry out their £400 million ‘real estate regeneration project’, which is also set to see a new tube station to connect to the Northern Line.
Chelsea maintain Battersea was “one of a limited number of options the club is considering”.
Last October, the fans’ group who own the freehold of Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), rejected an offer from the club’s owner Roman Abramovich, to buy their shares.
CPO shareholders have accused Chelsea of failing to fully explore the prospect of revamping Stamford Bridge, while Hammersmith and Fulham Council have disputed the club’s claims that doing so would be far more expensive than moving.