The possibility of Chelsea building a new stadium at Earl’s Court has hit a setback after an alternative plan for the land was approved by one of the councils involved.
At a meeting on Wednesday night, Hammersmith and Fulham council approved proposals for a development on the site of the old Earls Court Exhibition Centre which will include a mix of new homes, retail and hospitality, and workplaces. The plans are led by the Earls Court Development Company (ECDC).
ECDC confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday morning, stating that “the 44-acre, £10 billion masterplan will transform central London’s largest cleared development site, which spans both the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.
“This first milestone paves the way for ECDC to work with partners across the public and private sectors to move forwards with plans to start on site as soon as possible.”
ECDC said the development will create approximately 4,000 homes and 12,000 jobs.
The land had also been mooted as a potential site for a new stadium for Chelsea, who are looking at future options to develop or move away from Stamford Bridge. The ECDC’s plans do not include a football stadium.
The development still has multiple steps to go through before being green-lit. The site crosses borough boundaries into Kensington and Chelsea, which also has a say.
It has not been confirmed when they will vote on the proposals, but the earliest potential date is December 9. Whatever decision the councils make will also be reviewed by the Mayor of London.
What does this mean for Chelsea?
Hammersmith and Fulham council’s decision does not guarantee the development at Earls’ Court will go ahead. Kensington and Chelsea council must still vote on the proposals and even if planning permission is given, plenty can still go wrong before ground is actually broken — as Chelsea know. Under Roman Abramovich, the club secured planning permission for a 60,000-seater ground on the Stamford Bridge site, but the build never took place after complications around Abramovich’s visa.
However, this council decision is a significant step towards the ECDC project progressing, which would likely rule out the possibility of Chelsea having a new stadium on the site. The only mention of ‘football’ in the 460-page agenda document for Wednesday’s council meeting was to discuss overcrowding at local tube stations on matchdays; the ECDC is not factoring a new stadium into their plans.
Chelsea’s stadium project is being led by president and chief operating officer Jason Gannon, who also had significant involvement in the development of Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.
The Athletic reported in March that the options on the table were demolishing Stamford Bridge and building a new stadium on the site, or building a new ground at Earl’s Court.
If the ECDC project progresses, given the difficulty of finding another suitable site, the most likely path forward appears to be a redevelopment at Stamford Bridge. The club bought another 1.9 acres of land adjacent to the stadium in 2023, increasing the size of the plot available to them for redevelopment.
As a stand-by-stand renovation is not seen as feasible, a redevelopment would mean demolishing the existing ground and playing home games elsewhere while work took place. Wembley Stadium hosted Tottenham Hotspur’s home games for the 2017-18 season and much of 2018-19 while their new stadium was being built.