The Chelsea Pitch Owners have warned any buyers about tampering too much with Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to i, the chair of COP Chris Isitt urged any of the potential suitors not to relocate the team away from the fabled stadium.
Why are the Chelsea Pitch Owners so important?
Whoever replaces Roman Abramovich with plans to either renovate the Bridge or build a new ground must go through COP first.
They own the freehold to Chelsea’s arena, meaning they have a huge influence over any plans of development or destruction.
The company held talks over a stadium expansion in 2015, but Abramovich scrapped the idea three years later after his UK investor visa expired.
Now the Russian is pretty much out of the picture, his successor could reignite the dream of increasing the Bridge’s capacity from 41,000 to 61,000.
At the moment, all of Chelsea’s close rivals can fit far more bums on seats.
Old Trafford might not be the most modern, but it can still cram in 74,000.
Anfield is set to undergo work, whilst the Emirates holds a relatively modern place amongst the Premier League elite.
Meanwhile, just across the capital, both Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United moved into swanky new homes pretty recently.
Surely the champions of Europe deserve a grander stage to perform on than their adversaries.
“We just want to see new owners with as much passion for the football club as us, and with plans to develop the stadium, because the best team in London deserves the best stadium in London,” explained Isitt.
Stamford Bridge is going nowhere
However, this does not mean finding a completely different patch on which to play on.
“The idea is that Chelsea FC plays football at Stamford Bridge,” Isitt continued.
“If anybody wanted to move the club somewhere else, then they wouldn’t be able to call it Chelsea FC.”
Those lining up to takeover from Abramovich might have wild fantasises about building a glorious structure from scratch for the Blues to transfer into.
This would not sit well with a majority of the fans in the slightest.
The Bridge embodies well over a century of history, iconic moments and great memories.
Scrap that for a shinier model and the spark of nostalgia would be lost.
Just look how long it took West Ham to settle after they ditched the Boleyn Ground.
We do not want a repeat of that, thank you very much.
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