New home for Chelsea FC? Club bids on a historic Battersea Power Station site

May 4, 2012, 12:12 PM EDT

Battersea power station is for sale on the open market for the first time in its history

This news of a potential new ground for Chelsea FC is very personal to me.

For several years now my buddy’s place, which is literally across the street from Battersea Power Station, has served as London base of operations for an annual trip, where myself and a few fellow soccer nerds jam-pack as many matches as humanly possible into a 4- or 5-day period.

My friend’s kitchen window looks out over the historic, disused monstrosity, which may soon be Chelsea FC’s historic, disused monstrosity, and may soon be the site of Stamford Bridge’s replacement.

Also on a personal level, I’d like to know about the small gastro-pub just behind the historic site, about whether a certain, stunningly lovely Canadian remains on duty there?

Ahem. Let’s move on.

On a non-personal level, here are the important things to know about Friday’s big talker out of London:

Chelsea FC needs a new ground. Stamford Bridge, in haughty West London, is a fine ground. But at about 42,000, the capacity can’t match the larger, current standard bearers like Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium or Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
Battersea Power Station, which went on the market in February, is a historic landmark, so there are important implications well beyond sports to consider in all this.
Chelsea officials would like to include some of the original design elements, such as the signature foursome of smokestacks, into the facility design.
Officials at Stamford Bridge say a new facility has potential to become one of the “most iconic football stadiums in the world.”
Also in the club’s announcement Friday: “We must also stress that making an offer for the Battersea Power Station site does not mean the club has made a definitive decision to leave Stamford Bridge.”
The club’s official announcement is here.

Oh, and this … Battersea Power Station is the image on Pink Floyd’s Animals album. The notorious photo shoot involved an inflatable pink pig. I am absolutely not making any of this up.

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11 Comments (Feed for Comments)

footballer4ever - May 4, 2012 at 12:50 PM

@ Steve Davis: “I’d like to know about the small gastro-pub just behind the historic site, about whether a certain, stunningly lovely Canadian remains on duty there?”

Please, elaborate more on that lovely Canadian. I am sure more people would be interested to hear about it as well.

The demands of football is getting to the point in which extra large stadiums are needed to meet financial/customer demands. I just hope no matter how big they build the stadium it can somehow be built in a intimate stadium unlike the cavernous and soul-less NFL stadiums. Just saying…

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- Steve Davis - May 4, 2012 at 1:34 PM
  
  You know what they say … what happens on footy-watching trips to London, stays on … in … footy … trips …. Well, it doesn’t have the same ring, does it? But you get the picture. Besides, I’m sure my pals and our performance that night scared that poor thing right out of West London.
  
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dhagentj - May 4, 2012 at 1:56 PM

Jeez, the Sounders are just about to pass Chelsea in average attendance, and they go and move to a (presumably larger) home grounds).

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- Steve Davis - May 4, 2012 at 2:02 PM
  
  Well, they aren’t there yet. IF this thing goes through, they are years away from actually playing a match there. So, Sounders FC can still get its time in the rankings sun.
  
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ndnut - May 4, 2012 at 4:03 PM

Didn’t I read somewhere that if Chelsea FC left Stamford Bridge that they would forfeit the name “Chelsea Football Club” or was I dreaming? Please check that with a writer in London ’cause I’m almost certain that I read that.

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- pyr8fan - May 4, 2012 at 4:23 PM
  
  I think the deal is that they cannot sell Stamford Bridge. Also, if they move, they forfeit the name Chelsea FC. There is a group called Chelsea Pitch Owners from the ’80′s that wanted to protect the name and prevent developers from coming in.
  
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- Steve Davis - May 4, 2012 at 4:23 PM
  
  Hmmm. Check I will. Thanks for the tip
  
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ndnut - May 4, 2012 at 4:37 PM

^ Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography. pp. 91–92.

Got a free moment and to curious. This was the citation listed for that tidbit on the Stamford Bridge Wikipedia page. It was under the chapter labeled “future”.

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footballer4ever - May 5, 2012 at 4:00 AM

@ Steve Davis- was it on Halloween you all were out there? If so, you could have worn the smooth operator outfit than the count dracula one. LoL

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footballer4ever - May 5, 2012 at 4:04 AM

@ Steve Davis- “Besides, I’m sure my pals and our performance that night scared that poor thing right out of West London”

Were you all there on Halloween? If so, should have gone with the smooth operator costume than the count dracula outfit.

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metroplexfrog - May 7, 2012 at 8:06 PM

As long as Chelsea are still a prime contender I don’t care where they play.

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