Dr Dan Plumley

Tue 26 July 2022 12:55, UK

The plan to rebuild Stamford Bridge on an incremental basis will allow Chelsea to retain the majority of their annual £70million matchday income during construction.

That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the merits of gradual expansion rather than a total rebuild.

Chelsea have long harboured plans to take capacity at their West London home beyond the current 42,000.

Per The Sun last Thursday (21 July), the new owners are now planning to rebuild Stamford Bridge one stand at a time.

Todd Bohely, the man who fronted the £4.25billion takeover in May, has personally appointed esteemed stadium architect Jane Marie Smith to spearhead the design process.

Fellow Londoners Tottenham chose to move to Wembley Stadium while their new venue was constructed on the site of White Hart Lane.

But Plumley explains why the Boehly regime may feel a staged rebuild is a more financially viable option.

“They may think this is the only viable option,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.

“It depends on the club’s appetite to move out of the stadium for a while. Wembley is really the only viable alternative. It’s very unlikely they would ground share with another London club.

“It then becomes a question of what Wembley’s schedule is and what fee they are asking for. If it’s not a good option, this is the only other way to do it.

“Chelsea’s matchday income pre-Covid was tracking at between £65m and £70m per season. You don’t want to lose all of that in one hit, so you have to weigh up the cost-benefit.

“If you can keep three stands operational, you get to keep three-quarters of your revenue. You are also expanding for the future with a long-term play.

“I imagine they have run the numbers and it all computes. There is also the risk of upsetting fans if you move elsewhere for a season or two.”

In other news, medical insider exposes “brutal reality” as Chelsea put stars at risk in exchange for cash.