Chelsea given big boost in Stamford Bridge redevelopment as they seek to expand stadium

The club's new owners have made a massive stride towards new plans for Stamford Bridge as more land is purchased in a major deal.

Chelsea have taken a big move towards allowing themselves more options for the future of Stamford Bridge after securing a 1.2 acre plot of land next to the stadium.

Veteran housing association, Stoll, have confirmed the sale of a large area behind the East Stand of the ground with a deal in principle for around £80million.

In a tweet, Stoll wrote:

 "Today we have announced that we have confirmed a sale in principal, of the majority of our Fulham site to Chelsea FC ownership group, subject to resident consultation which begins today. The proposed sale would enable us to establish new properties + better services for veterans."

Stoll put the plot up for sale in order to raise funds for the charity and had 12 bidders for the land.

Although this does not yet mean that Chelsea can start to make major changes, it is a massive move towards being given extra access and opportunities with their current stadium. There will first be a consultation process for residents, which ends on September 20, but then the new owners will be able to start their plans.

The Stamford Bridge issue has been something clouding the first year of Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital's ownership with fans eager to hear about the aims for the site. It was one of the primary goals upon buying the club in May 2022 but has so far been similarly as slow as it was towards the end of Roman Abramovich's tenure.

The club will now be able to cautiously start to plan for total redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, which is seen as the most likely option, given their additional area to work with, but final decisions over the course of action are yet to be made.

Chelsea have long found themselves blocked off by the Stoll site when creating blueprints for working on the current stadium. As well as the train line also causing issues, the problem of best finding a way to enhance the design and increase capacity of the famous old ground has been a consistent one.

BlueCo will now be able to move towards potentially knocking down the current ground and building up once more, instead of enhancing stand-by-stand or even moving site entirely, which would require the permission from the Chelsea Pitch Owners.

Chelsea had previously attempted to relocate to a nearby site at Earl's Court but that has been denied. They are now close to having the freedom of making more choices when it comes to Stamford Bridge with no final decision made as to how they will advance.

Upon the announcement of a sale, Stoll chair of trustees air vice-marshal, Ray Lock, said:

 "The board assessed many factors, and concluded that the Chelsea FC ownership group offered the strongest bid in terms of how it would support Stoll and our residents during the process, its financial offer which would secure the future sustainability of the organisation and its understanding of the charity and the importance of continuing to have a positive impact on veterans' lives for generations to come."

Boehly has previous in overseeing stadium changes, working with Janet Marie Smith, who is the executive vice president of planning for the LA Dodgers when they moved ground.