Chelsea stadium latest: Club continue to explore options with planning permission set to expire

Chelsea will continue to explore the possibility of building a new stadium, despite acknowledging that planning permission for the project expires this week.

The Blues said their £1billion plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge into a new 60,000-seat ground would be reassessed if the economic climate improves, with the planning permission granted three years ago set to expire on March 31, 2020.

In a statement, the West London club wrote: "Chelsea Football Club acknowledges that the planning permission we obtained for a new stadium expires on 31st March 2020. We are grateful to all our fans and stakeholders, especially Hammersmith & Fulham Council, for their patience and understanding in the matter.

"We will continue to consider our options for a new stadium, should economic conditions improve."

Chelsea were granted planning permission by the City of London in March 2017 to begin demolishing buildings around their home over a period of three years.

Under the plans, the club’s museum as well as the Millennium & Capthorne Hotels would have been knocked down but Chelsea's owner, Roman Abramovich, called a halt to the project two years ago.

The Russian's decision came after his application for a renewed Tier-1 visa was denied by the UK Government, amid growing diplomatic tensions between the countries.

In a 2018 statement confirming the project had been shelved, Chelsea had pointed to the "unfavourable investment climate" amid uncertainty over a post-Brexit landscape. There is even more uncertainty about the future state of the UK economy, given the unprecedented coronavirus crisis, and one of the hotels previously earmarked for demolition is currently giving bed and breakfast to NHS staff, at Abramovich's expense, during the outbreak.

Stamford Bridge is currently the fifth biggest football ground in London, with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Wembley, the Emirates and the London Stadium all bigger venues, which are increasingly more attractive for events.

Spurs last week leapfrogged Chelsea into the top four of the Premier League in terms of revenue for the year ending June 30, 2019 as they began to reap the rewards of moving to their new £1.2bn home in April.

Abramovich initially tried to move Chelsea’s home to Battersea but this was met with huge opposition in 2011.

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