Sources: Chelsea battle five bidding-war rivals as £50m offer submitted
The bidding deadline for a plot of land crucial to Chelsea plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge has passed with a great number of interested parties having submitted offers, Football Insider has learned.
It is understood that at least five formal bids were lodged with sale agents Knight Frank before the late-December cut-off, with the true number potentially rising well beyond that.
Chelsea are among those to have submitted an offer worth in excess of £50million for the 1.9-acre site adjacent to their West London home, as was reported towards the end of 2022.
Stoll’s board of trustees will now deliberate on which bid to accept.
They have previously claimed that, while the value of prospective deals will be a factor, it will not be the sole consideration.
Studies have found that the freehold currently owned by veterans’ charity the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation could accommodate 233 new residential units.
Architecture firm West Waddy Archadia crafted a planning and development brief for the site, amplifying interest from property developers seeking to build new housing in the ritzy Fulham area.
Chelsea meanwhile have long been desperate to raise capacity at Stamford Bridge, which currently houses just shy of 42,000 spectators.
They already own much of the land in their immediate locale, although the Stoll site will likely be indispensable if the full scale of their ambitions is to be realised.
New owner Todd Boehly has enlisted architect Jane Marie Smith to begin drawing up preliminary designs for redevelopment.
Director Chris Isitt revealed in his address at the recent AGM of Chelsea Pitch Owners, who own the land on which Stamford Bridge is built, that any stadium upgrades are unlikely to be complete until after 2030.
Boehly committed to spending £1.75billion on infrastructure upgrades when he completed his takeover of the Blues in May last year.
In other news, pundit makes “massive” Chelsea claim after Enzo Fernandez offer update.