Chelsea have been warned that their stadium is ‘too small’ by Sadiq Khan and that they must be watching their London rivals with ‘envy’.
But the Mayor of London has invited the Premier League giants for talks over potentially opening a new stadium.
Chelsea’s owners are seemingly divided over whether to redevelop Stamford Bridge or build on a new site at Earl’s Court, which would require consultation with the mayor’s office.
The Blues have the 10th-biggest capacity in English club football at 40,343, lower than Championship side Sunderland.
And despite the Bridge witnessing many historic nights over the years, its capacity pales in comparison to that of fellow London clubs West Ham, Tottenham, and Arsenal, trailing by around 20,000.
‘My message to Chelsea is come and speak to us in relation to what you want to do,’ Khan told The Times.
Chelsea have been told Stamford Bridge is ‘too small’ for their statute by Sadiq Khan
Todd Boehly and Chelsea’s other owners are weighing up whether to redevelop or move
The Mayor of London believes the Blues must ‘envy’ London rivals such as Tottenham
‘Chelsea are the victims of their success, and Stamford Bridge is now too small for them. After all, this is a team that has twice won the Champions League.
‘We work closely with all seven of our Premier League clubs but I’m sure Chelsea look with some envy at the stadiums some of their rivals in London have.
‘We’re really keen to make sure that Chelsea, as we are with all our clubs, continue to flourish and thrive, so we’re open to talking to Chelsea about what plans they have.
‘At the moment they’ve not approached us. But we’re here.’
Khan revealed that he wants London to bid for the 2040 Olympic Games.
What to do with the stadium is a debate which could splinter Chelsea’s ownership.
In March, Todd Boehly appeared to advocate for a new multi-purpose and suggested Chelsea’s ownership group needed to be aligned on the project.
Much has been written on Boehly’s relationship with his fellow co-owners Clearlake Capital, led by Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, including talk of one party potentially buying out the other.
Chelsea are reportedly in talks with stakeholders to build their new stadium at Earls Court
The distance between the sites is only a mile – something which could help endear it to fans
Any plans could be put on hold amid suggestions of internal conflict between co-controlling owners Todd Boehly (left) and Clearlake Capital (director Behdad Eghbali pictured right)
When quizzed on their differences by Bloomberg, Boehly said: ‘We have to think long-term about what we’re trying to accomplish.
‘We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flesh out.
‘I think that’s going to be where we’re either aligned or we ultimately decide to go different ways. What’s been written and talked about is much more “drama” than what is actually happening.’
Pressed on his plans for Stamford Bridge, Boehly continued: ‘Stadium development is definitely a theme. You’re going to see the NBA go to Europe, they need stadiums, they need arenas.
‘You know, sporting infrastructure. We’re just on the very front end of the sporting wave and sporting infrastructure is going to be a big thing about it.
‘We have 16, 20 years to figure out, you know, obviously, inside of London, it’s really complex. It’s not as if we’re building something in the middle of a rural environment.
‘We have a lot of constituencies to make sure that we care about. Certainly the Chelsea fanbase is one. Long-term, we’re going to be building something new and we’ll figure it out.’
Redeveloping the stadium where it currently is could cost to the tune of £2billion and need them to play elsewhere for four years. It has been their home since 1905.
The west London club has been long hoping to upgrade and increase the capacity of their current home Stamford Bridge
Tottenham have been commended for their state-of-the-art arena, which holds 62,850 fans
Boehly is determined to transform the stadium into a world-class venue, which would mean not retaining any of the current stands.
As for the Earls Court site, Chelsea were reported by the Guardian last year to have spoken with Transport for London (TfL), one of the partners who looks after the site, and real estate developers Delancey.
However, the Earls Court Development Committee wants a mixed-use site without a football stadium.
Hammersmith and Fulham council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council are expected to make a decision this year over the future of the site.
