Stamford Bridge (stadium)

Association football stadium in London

Stamford Bridge ( ) is a football stadium in Walham Green, adjacent to the nearby area of Chelsea in West London, normally referred to as The Bridge. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] It is the home of Premier League club Chelsea. With a capacity of 40,834, it is the ninth largest venue of the 2021–22 Premier League season. Opened in 1877, the stadium was used by the London Athletic Club until 1905, when new owner Gus Mears founded Chelsea Football Club to occupy the establish ; Chelsea have played their home games there ever since. It has undergo major changes over the years, most recently in the 1990s when it was renovated into a modern, all-seater stadium.

Reading: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

Stamford Bridge has been a venue for England external matches, FA Cup Finals, FA Cup semi-finals and Charity Shield games. It has besides hosted numerous other sports, such as cricket, rugby union, speedway, greyhound racing, baseball and American football. The stadium ‘s highest official attendance is 82,905, for a league catch between Chelsea and Arsenal on 12 October 1935 .

history [edit ]

early history [edit ]

aeriform position of Chelsea ‘s Stamford Bridge stadium in 1909 “ Stamford Bridge ” is considered to be a derived function of “ Samfordesbrigge ” meaning “ the bridge at the arenaceous ford ”. [ 7 ] Eighteenth hundred maps show a “ Stanford Creek ” running along the route of what is immediately a railway line at the back of the East Stand as a feeder of the Thames. The amphetamine reaches of this conducive have been known as Billingswell Ditch, Pools Creek and Counters Creek. In medieval times the brook was known as Billingwell Dyche, derived from “ Billing ‘s spring or pour ”. It formed the limit between the parishes of Kensington and Fulham. By the eighteenth century, the creek had become known as Counter ‘s Creek, which is the name it has retained since. [ 8 ] [ failed verification ] The pour had two local bridges : Stamford Bridge on the Fulham Road ( besides recorded as Little Chelsea Bridge ) and Stanbridge on the King ‘s Road, now known as Stanley Bridge. The existing Stamford Bridge was built of brick in 1860–1862 and since been partially reconstructed .
The mark New Stamford Bridge stadium in August 1905 Chelsea tick West Brom at Stamford Bridge in September 1905. Stamford Bridge opened in 1877 as a home for the London Athletic Club and was used about entirely for that purpose until 1904, when the lease was acquired by brothers Gus and Joseph Mears, who wanted to stage high-profile professional football matches there. however, previous to this, in 1898, Stamford Bridge played host to the World Championship of shinty between Beauly Shinty Club and London Camanachd. [ 9 ] Stamford Bridge was built finale to Lillie Bridge, an older sports land which had hosted the 1873 FA Cup Final and the first ever amateur boxing matches ( among other things ). It was initially offered to Fulham Football Club, but they turned it down for fiscal reasons. After considering the sale of the land to the Great western Railway Company, the Mears decided to found their own football club, Chelsea, to occupy the grind as a equal to Fulham. Noted football ground architect Archibald Leitch, who had besides designed Ibrox, Celtic Park, Craven Cottage and Hampden Park, was hired to construct the stadium. In its early days, Stamford Bridge stadium was served by a modest railway station, Chelsea and Fulham railway station, which was later closed after World War II bombard. [ 10 ] Stamford Bridge had an official capacity of around 100,000, making it the second largest earth in England after Crystal Palace. It was used as the FA Cup final venue. As in the first place constructed, Stamford Bridge was an athletic contest lead and the flip was initially located in the middle of the running track. This mean that spectators were separated from the field of play on all sides by the width of running track and, on the north and south sides, the separation was particularly bombastic because the long sides of the running track well exceeded the length of the football pitch. The stadium had a single stand for 5,000 spectators on the east side. Designed by Archibald Leitch, it was an exact replica of the Stevenage Road Stand he had previously built at the re-developed Craven Cottage ( and the main cause why Fulham had chosen not to move into the fresh land ). The other sides were all candid in a huge bowl and thousands of tons of material excavated from the build of the Piccadilly cable provided gamey terrace for standing spectators exposed to the elements on the west side .
A jam packed Stamford Bridge in the early 1930s In 1945, Stamford Bridge staged one of the most noteworthy matches in its history. soviet side FC Dynamo Moscow were invited to tour the United Kingdom at the end of the Second World War and Chelsea were the first gear side they faced. An estimate herd of over 100,000 crammed into Stamford Bridge to watch an excite 3–3 draw, with many spectators on the cad track and on top of the stands .

crisis [edit ]

In the early 1970s the club ‘s owners embarked on an ambitious project to renovate Stamford Bridge. however, the cost of building the East Stand escalated out of control condition after shortages of materials and a builders ‘ hit and the remainder of the anchor remained uninfluenced. The new East Stand was finished, but most of the ( unserviceable ) running tracks remained, and the new stand was besides displaced by approximately 20 meters, compared to the gear. The estimate was to move the integral stadium towards the north. But due to the fiscal position in the mid 1970s the other stands were n’t rebuilt for another two decades. In the meanwhile, Chelsea struggled in the league, and attendances fell and debts increased. The club was relegated to the Second Division in 1975 and again in 1979, narrowly avoiding the drop into the Third Division in 1983 before last returning to the First Division a year late. The increase in the costs, combined with other factors, sent the club into decline. As a function of fiscal restructure in the late 1970s, the freehold was separated from the cabaret and when new Chelsea president Ken Bates bought the club for £ 1 in 1982, he did not buy the ground. A big lump of the Stamford Bridge freehold was subsequently sold to property developers Marler Estates. The sale resulted in a long and acrimonious legal contend between Bates and Marler Estates. Marler Estates was ultimately forced into bankruptcy after a market crash in the early 1990s, allowing Bates to do a softwood with its banks and re-unite the freehold with the club. During the 1984–85 season, following a serial of pitch invasions and fights by football hooligans during matches at the stadium, president Ken Bates erected an electric margin fence between the stands and the lurch – identical to the one which efficaciously controlled cattle on his dairy farm. however, the electric argue was never turned on and before hanker it was dismantled, due to the GLC blocking it from being switched on for health and safety reasons. [ 11 ]

modernization and renovation [edit ]

With the Taylor Report arising from the Hillsborough disaster being published in January 1990 and ordering all top division clubs to have all-seater stadiums in time for the 1994–95 season, Chelsea ‘s plan for a 34,000-seat stadium at Stamford Bridge was given approval by Hammersmith and Fulham council on 19 July 1990. [ citation needed ] The re-building of the stadium commenced and consecutive construct phases during the 1990s eliminated the original run track. The construction of the East Stand some 20 years earlier had begun the process of eliminating the track. All stands, now roofed and all-seater, are immediately adjacent to the slope. This social organization captures and concentrates the noise of supporters. The pitch, the turnstiles, and the mention rights of the club are immediately owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, an organization set up to prevent the stadium from being purchased by property developers. KSS Design Group ( architects ) designed the complete renovation of Stamford Bridge Stadium and its hotels, megastore, offices and residential buildings. [ 12 ]

other uses [edit ]

Stamford Bridge was the venue of the FA Cup Final from 1920 to 1922, before being replaced by Wembley Stadium in 1923. It has staged ten FA Cup semi-finals, ten Charity Shield matches, and three England matches, the last in 1932. It was one of the home venues for the congressman London XI team that played in the original Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The team played the home leg of the two-legged final at Stamford Bridge, drawing 2–2 with FC Barcelona ; they lost the away leg 6–0, however. Results of FA Cup Finals at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge has besides hosted a variety of early sporting events since Chelsea have occupied the reason. In October 1905 it hosted a rugby union match between the All Blacks and Middlesex, [ 13 ] and in 1914 hosted a baseball peer between the touring New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox. [ 14 ] In 1908, Stamford Bridge was the venue for a Rugby League international between Great Britain and the touring New Zealand All Golds, who won 18–6. [ 15 ] In 1924 the stadium hosted the 1924 Women ‘s Olympiad, the beginning international event for women in racetrack and field in the UK. A speedway team operated from the stadium from 1929 until 1932, winning the Southern League in their opening season. Initially open meetings were held there in 1928. A nineteen-year-old junior passenger, Charlie Biddle, was killed in a race accident. In 1931, black cinders were laid onto the circuit suitable for practice by speedway and athletics. [ 16 ] A bantam car meet reportedly attracted a crowd of 50,000 people in 1948. [ 16 ] The ground was used in 1980 for the first major day-night floodlight cricket match between Essex and West Indies ( although organised by Surrey ) which was a commercial success ; the stick to year it hosted the final examination of the inaugural address Lambert & Butler county cricket competition. [ 17 ] [ 18 ] It, however, failed and the experiment of playing cricket on football grounds was ended. Stamford Bridge concisely hosted american football – despite not being long enough for a regulation-size grid field – when the London Monarchs were based there in 1997 .

Greyhound racing [edit ]

The Greyhound Racing Association ( GRA ) brought greyhound racing to Stamford Bridge on 31 July 1933 [ 19 ] and this forced the London Athletic Club to leave the venue. [ 20 ] Totalisator upset in 1946 was about £6 million ( £5,749,592 ) ; [ 21 ] to put this in position to football, the british transfer record at the like time in 1946 was £14,500. On 1 August 1968 the GRA closed Stamford Bridge to greyhound racing quoting the fact that Stamford Bridge had to slipstream on the lapp days as White City. An try by Chelsea to bring back greyhound race to Stamford Bridge in 1976, to alleviate debts, failed when the GRA refused them permission to do therefore. [ 22 ]

structure and facilities [edit ]

The Bridge pitch is surrounded on each side by four covered all-seater stands, formally known as the Matthew Harding Stand ( North ), East stand, The Shed End ( South ) and West Stand. Each rack has at least two tiers & was constructed for entirely different reasons as function of distinguish expansion plans .

Matthew Harding Stand [edit ]

The Matthew Harding Stand The Matthew Harding Stand, previously known as the North Stand, is along the north edge of the cant. In 1939, a small two storied North Stand including seating was erected. It was in the first place intended to span the integral northern end, but the outbreak of World War II and its aftermath compelled the clubhouse to keep the point of view modest. It was demolished and replaced by capable terracing for standing supporters in 1976. The North Terrace was closed in 1993 and the give North Stand of two tiers ( the Matthew Harding Stand ) was then constructed at that end. It is named after former Chelsea director Matthew Harding, whose investment helped transform the baseball club in the early 1990s before his death in a helicopter accident on 22 October 1996. His investment in the club enabled construction of the rack which was completed in time for the 1996–97 season. It has two tiers and accommodates most season-ticket holders, giving it an excellent air, particularly in the lower tier. Any proposal to enlarge the facility would necessitate destruction of the adjacent Chelsea F.C. Museum and Chelsea Health Club and Spa. For some Champions League matches, this digest operates at reduced capability, some entrances being obstructed by the presence of television outside-broadcast vehicles .

East Stand [edit ]

The East Stand and Shed goal The only covered digest when Stamford Bridge was renovated into a football grind in 1905, the East Stand had a gabled corrugated iron ceiling, with around 6,000 seats and a terrace enclosure. The bandstand remained until 1973, when it was demolished in what was meant to be the open phase of a comprehensive examination renovation of the stadium. The new stand was opened at the start of the 1974–75 temper, but due to the ensuing fiscal difficulties at the club, it was the merely part of the development to be completed. The East Stand basically survives in its 1973 three-tiered cantilever human body, although it has been much refurbished and modernised since. It is the heart of the stadium, house the tunnel, dugout, dressing rooms, conference board, press kernel, Audio-Visual and comment box. The middle tier is occupied by facilities, clubs, and executive suites. The upper tier provides spectators with one of the best views of the deliver and it is the only part to have survived the extensive renovation of the 90s. previously, it was the dwelling to away supporters on the bottom tier. however, at the start of the 2005–06 season, then-manager José Mourinho requested that the family incision move to this part of the stand, to boost team morale. aside fans were moved to the Shed End .
view from the Lower East Stand, August 2014 A scene from the compress box at Stamford Bridge

shed end [edit ]

The Shed End is along the south side of the pitch. In 1930, a new terrace was built on the south side, for more stand spectators. It was primitively known as the Fulham Road End, but supporters nicknamed it ‘The Shed ‘ and this led the club to officially change its name. It became the most privilege blot for the loudest and most die-hard hold, until the terrace was demolished in 1994, when all-seater stadium became compulsory by law as a guard measure in light up of the Taylor Report following the Hillsborough calamity. The seat stand which replaced it is silent known as the Shed End ( see below ). The newly stand opened in time for the 1997/98 season. Along with the Matthew Harding Stand, it is an area of the grind where many vocal fans congregate. The watch from the upper tier is wide regarded as one of the best in the stadium. The Shed besides contains the centennial museum and a memorial wall, where families of asleep fans are able to leave a permanent memorial of their love ones, indicating their ageless support. A large chunk of the original wall from the back of the Shed End terrace even stands and runs along the south side of the stadium. It has recently been decorated with lights and large images of Chelsea legends. Since 2005, it has been where off supporters are housed ; they are allocated 3,000 tickets towards the east side, roughly one-half of the capacity of the stand. Peter Osgood ‘s ashes were laid to rest under the shed end penalty point in 2006. [ 23 ]

West Stand [edit ]

The West Stand In 1964–65, a induct West Stand was built to replace the existing terrace on the west side. Most of the West Stand consisted of rising ranks of wooden tip up seats on iron frames, but seating at the very front was on concrete forms known as “ the Benches ”. The old West Stand was demolished in 1997 and replaced by the stream West Stand. It has three tiers, in accession to a row of executive boxes that stretches the distance of the stand. The lower grade was built on schedule and opened in 1998. however, difficulties with design permission meant that the stand was not amply completed until 2001. construction of the stand about caused another fiscal crisis, which would have seen the club fall into presidency, but for the personal treatment of Roman Abramovich. In borrowing £70m from Eurobonds to finance the project, Ken Bates put Chelsea into a highly parlous fiscal situation, primarily because of the refund terms he had agreed to.

pitch [edit ]

The Bridge opened in 1877 as a home for the London Athletic Club and was used about entirely for that purpose until 1904. subsequently, with the opening of the football club, the need for a pitch resulted in the structure of the lurch. In June 2015 significant upgrades were made to the undersoil-heating, drain, and irrigation systems. Along with the installation a fresh hybrid denounce lurch, this brought the pitch up to modern standards. The current pitch at the ground measures approximately 103 metres ( 112.6 yd ) long by 67 metres ( 73.2 yd ) across-the-board, with a couple metres of run-off space on all sides. The south stand has by far the most run-off space being unto 3.5 metres deep. [ 27 ]

Chelsea Village and surroundings [edit ]

Stamford Bridge East Entrance When Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in the Ken Bates era, many extra features were added to the complex, including two hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, the Chelsea Megastore, and an interactional visitor attraction called Chelsea World of Sport. The intention was that these facilities would provide extra gross to support the football side of the occupation, but they were less successful than hoped, and before the Abramovich takeover in 2003, the debt taken on to finance them was a major burden on the club. soon after the coup d’etat, a decision was taken to drop the “ Chelsea Village ” trade name and refocus on Chelsea as a football club. however, the stadium is sometimes still referred to as depart of Chelsea Village or “ The village ”. [ 28 ]

Centenary Museum [edit ]

2005 saw the open of a newfangled club museum, known as the Chelsea Museum or the Centenary Museum, to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the club. The museum is located in the erstwhile Shed Galleria. Visitors are able to visit the WAGs lounge and then watch an basic video recording message from the former vice-president Richard Attenborough. They are then guided ten by ten through the club ‘s history seeing old programmes, past shirts, José Mourinho ‘s coat and other memorabilia. A motto on the wall of the museum reads “ I am not from the bottle. I am a extra one. “, [ 29 ] a citation to Mourinho ‘s celebrated quotation upon signing as director for Chelsea. [ 30 ] On 6 June 2011 a newly museum with better and interactional exhibits opened behind the Matthew Harding stand. It is the largest football museum in London. [ 31 ]

Megastore [edit ]

The club merchandise workshop, known as the Megastore, is situated on the southwest corner of the stadium. The patronize has two floors ; the anchor floor chiefly consists of souvenirs and children ‘s gear, and the first floor offers chiefly apparel, including training jerseys, jackets, coats, and replica team jersey. There are besides two smaller shops, one located at the Stamford Gate entrance and the early inside the new museum building behind the Matthew Harding point of view. [ 32 ]

future : Stamford Bridge Redevelopment Project [edit ]

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sanctioned renovation of Stamford Bridge to around 55,000 to 60,000 seats. [ 33 ] Its placement in a heavily built-up function of Inner London, in between a independent road and two railway lines complicates the logistics of the renovation. additionally, dispersing 60,000 fans into the residential roads surrounding Stamford Bridge is likely to create congestion. [ citation needed ]

alternative sites [edit ]

Earls Court Exhibition Centre, White City, Battersea Power Station, the Imperial Road Gasworks ( off the Kings Road on the Fulham and Chelsea border ), and the Chelsea Barracks were probable alternate sites explored for a stadium rebuild. [ 34 ] Under the Chelsea Pitch Owners ( CPO ) articles of association, the club would however relinquish the appoint ‘Chelsea Football Club ‘ should it always move from the web site where Stamford Bridge exists. [ 35 ] The baseball club proposed to buy back the freehold from CPO. In a vote held on 27 October 2011, its shareholders opted against selling their rights. [ 36 ] On 4 May 2012, Chelsea announced a bid to purchase Battersea Power Station to build a 60,000-seater stadium on the locate. [ 37 ] They released aesthetic impressions of the proposed stadium on 22 June 2012. [ citation needed ]

Proposed plan [edit ]

On 17 June 2014, club announced that it had commissioned a report of the area from Fulham Broadway to Stamford Bridge and beyond, by architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. [ citation needed ] Later, in December future class, Chelsea announced intention to build a 60,000-seater stadium at Stamford Bridge. [ 38 ] On 5 January 2017 Hammersmith and Fulham council approved the rebuild. [ 39 ] The wholly of Chelsea greenwich village would be demolished and the modern stadium would include a new club shop, museum, a bar, and restaurants. The two existing hotels, restaurants, bars and health spa would be relocated. [ citation needed ] On 6 March 2017 full license was given to redevelop Stamford Bridge by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who said the “ high timbre and spectacular design ” would add to the capital ‘s “ fantastic array of sporting arenas ”. [ 40 ] During the rebuild, expected to last 3–4 years, the cabaret would have to find an option locate to play home games. The Twickenham Stadium emerged as one possible destination. [ 41 ] In February 2016, media reports claimed that Chelsea had agreed a £20 million deal with the FA for Wembley Stadium to use it for three seasons beginning in 2017–18. [ 42 ] Although, Chelsea wanted single rights to Wembley, the FA suggested that they share stadium with London-rivals Tottenham Hotspur F.C. for merely the 2017–18 season, as Spurs were then engaged in their own stadium rebuild. [ 42 ] The FA wanted to show no favourites in using the home stadium. [ 42 ]

redesign [edit ]

The Gothic, Westminster Abbey -inspired redesign, [ 43 ] envisioned as a “ cathedral of football ”, [ 44 ] prominently features a series of 132 brick piers interlaced with 132 slender steel piers, [ 45 ] in reference to the borough ‘s Victorian-era brick works, [ 46 ] [ 43 ] that extend over the roof and end in a round white steel ring right above the pitch. [ 45 ] [ 47 ] The piers create a brood walk around the perimeter of the premises. [ 47 ] The strange faceted polygon form of the stadium accommodates site constraints such as neighbouring properties, rights to unhorse, rails, historic boundary walls, whilst maximising its interior space. With 5 levels above grind and 3 basement levels, and 5 general entree entrances and 4 cordial reception entrances to a three-tiered roomy spectator bowling ball across four stands, [ 45 ] the rebuild ‘s chief emphasis is on match-day atmosphere and spectator pump experience, including views of the flip from all seats in the stadium, [ 43 ] [ 47 ] easier stadium access, [ 45 ] and the season-ticket holders keeping their respective seat positions. [ 46 ] A copulate of continuous ‘inner ‘ and ‘outer ‘ rings occupying approximately 60,000km2 around the bowl houses the concourse facilities like dining areas, kiosks, washrooms, kitchens, and first-aid rooms. The façade, made up of 264 piers, either left open or covered with opaque panels or translucent glass. The presence panels feature cosmetic architectural alloy known as Crozier. [ 45 ] The public plaza are augmented by an extra 23,000km2 through overlay of the railway lines bordering its perimeter. [ 48 ] According to Herzog & de Meuron, the architects, the invention is intended to “ capture the spirit of the local inheritance in a contemporaneous sculpt form that will respond to the local townscape [ … ] The structure will have a light of saying when viewed directly but besides a solidity and textural materiality when seen obliquely ”. [ 47 ] Involving dig activities and demolition of the existing stadium and the consort buildings, [ 45 ] the rebuild, touted as “ one of the most ambitious and difficult builds in architectural history ”, [ 49 ] is expected to cost $ 754 million. [ 46 ] The architects, Herzog & de Meuron, redesigned the stadium based on the master-plan drafted by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, while Aecom provided environmental, fuel, mechanical, electric, and plumbing engineer and were besides landscape architects. Parsons Brinckerhoff and Schlaich Bergermann Partner worked on its structural and civil engineering aspects. [ 45 ]

legal hurdles [edit ]

In May 2017, the Crosthwaites kin, whose house is sited opposite the East Stand, launched legal proceedings in the form of an injunction, in decree to prevent Chelsea from expanding Stamford Bridge. The family ‘s argument was that far build at the stadium would block out their natural light. Chelsea attempted to offer them legal advice worth £50,000, and far compensation sympathize to be in the area of a six-figure summarize, in exchange for waiving their legal correct to light in their family. [ 50 ] The baseball club then sought the help of the local anesthetic authority, Hammersmith & Fulham Council, in order to continue with the Stamford Bridge Redevelopment Project. In January 2018 the council sided with the club, by planning to use its powers under planning police to buy the air travel rights over part of Stamford Bridge and the railroad track occupation which sits between the stadium and the affected homes. It would then lease the land back to Chelsea and railway operators Network Rail, meaning the Crosthwaites would be entitled to recompense but would not be able to prevent the renovation. [ 51 ]

oscilloscope [edit ]

The Stamford Redevelopment Project encompasses an sphere of around 12.1 acres ( 48967 m2 ). The northern boundaries are formed by Railway lines to the north and the east, while Fulham Road forms the southern boundary. Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions form the westerly frontier. The clubhouse carried out a populace reference in June 2017 to gain feedback about the stadium design. The project is expected to be constructed in a phase manner. [ 52 ]

Phase I: The first phase involves the tearing down of the club museum, the health club, the health spa, Millennium & Copthrone Hotels & the entirety of Chelsea village. This phase intends to be completed while the club continue to play at Stamford Bridge & is expected to last a year. The main contractor of this phase of the project has yet to be determined.
Phase II: This phase is expected to cover the demolition of the stadium and the facilities contained within it.
Phase III: This involves the building of a decked surface from Fulham Broadway Station in the north west & north to Fulham road in the south barring the land not owned as part of the freehold of stamford bridge. From Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions in the west to the Railway lines in the east. This phase will also involve a reduced level dig.
Phase IV: Consists of building the new stadium.

suspension [edit ]

On 31 May 2018, the cabaret announced suspension of the rebuild express, “ Chelsea Football Club announces nowadays that it has put its newly stadium project on hold. No further pre-construction design and plan influence will occur. [ … ] The baseball club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decisiveness. The decision was made due to the current unfavorable investing climate. ” [ 53 ]