March 8 – London Mayor Sadiq Khan has given approval to Chelsea’s new £500 million stadium. The club’s redevelopment proposal had been agreed by the Hammersmith and Fulham local council in January,
The 60,000-seat rebuild of the club’s Stamford Bridge site in west London is an increase of 18,000 on the current stadium capacity and will deliver higher value retail and corporate entertainment facilities.
The build includes a direct walkway from the nearby Fulham Broadway tube station. The stadium has been designed by architects Herzog and de Meuron, who also designed the iconic ‘Birds Nest’ Olympic stadium in Beijing as well as Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.
The stadium could be ready for the start of the 2020-21 season, but to achieve that the club will have to relocate for three seasons, most likely to Wembley.
Tottenham Hotspur are currently scheduled to play their home matches at Wembley next season while their 61,000-seat stadium on the site of White Hart Lane is completed. However, any delay could cause that to shift. While the stadium looks to be on track there have been concerns about surrounding travel infrastructure being behind schedule.
Speaking about the Chelsea plan, Khan said: “London is one of the world’s greatest sporting cities and I’m delighted that we will soon add Chelsea’s new stadium to the already fantastic array of sporting arenas in the capital.
“Having taken a balanced view of the application, I’m satisfied this is a high-quality and spectacular design which will significantly increase capacity within the existing site, as well as ensuring fans can have easy access from nearby transport connections. I’m confident this new stadium will be a jewel in London’s sporting crown and will attract visitors and football fans from around the world.”
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