By dixon9
October 7 2010

With the persistent “no terraces” rule since the Taylor Report still plaguing top-flight football, a move from or redevelopment of Stamford Bridge has long been talked about.  Most prefer that we stay where we are whilst others aren’t against a move provided certain conditions are met.  In the meantime we aren’t going anywhere anyway…so says Bruce Buck:

History

“There is a lot of history and tradition at Stamford Bridge,” said Buck.

“The club has been here since 1905 and so it's very, very difficult for us to make the philosophical decision that we are going to move on.”

 “I can't say that we will never move or have a new stadium but at the moment it's not at the front of our agenda.”

Council Obstacle

With a stubborn Hammersmith & Fulham council (Stamford Bridge is just 100 odd yards outside of Kensington & Chelsea) apparently refusing to budge over safety concerns for an increased capacity stadium, sites such as Earls Court, Olympia and even Battersea Power Station have been mooted as possible new homes for Chelsea FC.

“Certainly we wouldn't leave west London or thereabouts and there are very few sites available,” added Buck.

The all important readies!

Still, there is a concern over maintaining and increasing a healthy match-day revenue:

“We have to do things with our other commercial activities to make up the deficit that is created by the fact we don't have a 60,000-seat stadium,” said Buck.

'What's at the front of our agenda is increasing our commercial activities, increasing our sponsors and increasing how we use new media.”

Should we stay or should we go?

Personally, I would like us to remain at the Bridge, Very few clubs can claim to have the tradition of still playing at their original spiritual home and it would break my heart to see the Bridge become a posh housing development.

The council obviously refuse to acknowledge that we used to have a lot more than the current 42,000 match goers in the old days.  One look up and down the immediate vicinity of the Fulham Road confirms that many of the old working-class pubs are now wine bars or gastro-pubs – you can see where the council are heading with this…

IF we do have to move then I hope it’s very near the Bridge and also not one of these soulless copies of dome stadiums that seem to be the fashion in recent years.