QPR's London Rivals to Move Across The River?

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Update: Chelsea Statement Denying the story

Observer/Jamie Jackson - Chelsea ponder £500m Battersea move
- Chelsea are considering advanced plans for a new stadium next to Battersea Power Station, three miles from their current home at Stamford Bridge. The proposed new ground would hold between 65,000 and 75,000 fans and would have a retractable roof. It has been designed by HOK Sports, the company that built Wembley Stadium, the Emirates and the north stand at the Bridge.
- The plans have been presented to club executives by architects from the company's Putney base and a representative from HOK's New York office.
- One HOK employee said: 'The presentation was very impressive and was common knowledge around the place. Everyone was talking about it and the pictures of the new stadium were stuck up on the walls at the Putney office.'
- The new site is across the Thames in south London and it would take an hour to walk there from Stamford Bridge. It is also in a different borough, Wandsworth, to the stadium that has been the club's home since their formation in 1905 - facts likely to cause controversy among fans.
- The proposed development is expected to cost up to £500m and would, a source confirmed, be funded in part by the development of Stamford Bridge into luxury apartments. This mirrors the model Arsenal followed when moving from Highbury to the Emirates in 2006. Penthouses at the redeveloped site went on sale for £1m and the cheapest apartment currently available costs £375,000. About 90 per cent of the original build has now been sold, giving Arsenal a profit of more than £100m.
- While Highbury is one of the more expensive areas of the capital in which to buy property, it is dwarfed by the value of land at Stamford Bridge's west London location in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
- While Arsenal were restricted to 711 apartments at Highbury, as the old stadium was a listed building, Stamford Bridge has no such limitations. With its far greater area, including the club's Chelsea Village complex and extensive parking, at least 1,000 properties could be built.
- Despite the credit crisis, which is affecting the price of property, Chelsea would expect high interest in what is an exclusive area of prime real estate, allowing them to profit from the move. Arsenal's decision to leave Highbury has placed them among the biggest earners in world football. The club's matchday revenue is about £3m for every home game.
- Chelsea's problem might be filling the new stadium. They have had to cut ticket prices for Champions League group matches this season after not selling out all games last year and on occasion have bought adverts in newspapers to try to sell tickets for some Premier League games.
- A club spokesperson last night told Observer Sport that no decision had been reached. 'Chelsea have been linked with countless sites away from Stamford Bridge, but the club is still evaluating options to develop the club's current stadium. Only when those options have been exhausted will we consider moving.'
- To move, Chelsea would need the nod from Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation formed in 1997 to prevent Stamford Bridge being sold again to property developers. They own the naming rights to the club - so could force Chelsea to change their name if the club left the ground without their backing.Observer


UPDATE: CHELSEA OFFICIAL STATEMENT - OBSERVER STADIUM STORY DENIED
Chelsea Football Club has issued the following statement in response to a story in The Observer newspaper today (Sunday) saying the club is considering building a new stadium in Battersea.
The statement said:
'This story is total nonsense. Chelsea is not actively considering moving to this site in Battersea.
'Chelsea has been linked with a whole host of high profile sites in London before, including this one.
'We are approached on a regular basis by developers and others with a commercial interest in driving up the price of property.
'The architects HOK have not been commissioned by Chelsea to build a stadium and do not work for the club. Their approach was unsolicited.
'Chelsea's position on stadium development is very clear. We will not be considering moving away from our present stadium until all possibilities of redeveloping Stamford Bridge are exhausted.
'Most people are well aware of the difficulties involved in redeveloping Stamford Bridge.' Chelsea