Chelsea to knock down & replace Stamford Bridge with 150,000 capacity mega arena

Plans to boost the attendance of Stamford Bridge to an eyewatering 150,000 have resurfaced amid suggestions Chelsea's home is once again up for debate.

After years of rumours and redressed renovation plans under Roman Abramovich, American co-owner Todd Boehly has revived talk of a major makeover in west London. The Telegraph reported in March that a £1.5billion 'complete rebuild' looks the most likely option as Chelsea seek to install one of Europe's most impressive football venues, though other alternatives are still being explored.

But even that 10-figure transformation may not compare with the club's former proposal to build a 150,000-seat super venue back in early 1961. The Times reported in February of that year the club had announced plans for the new arena, which would house 'restaurants and a dance hall', among other features.

Not unlike the multi-purpose mammoths of today, the proposals indicated hopes for the site to host events 'seven days a week' to help generate the required revenue. Italian engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi had reportedly agreed to design and build the project, which evidently never came to fruition.

Instead, the Blues have been left with numerous setbacks and other failed fantasies in regards to their home stadium over the years. The Bridge's current capacity of 40,341 is only the ninth-highest in the Premier League at present, with London rivals Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham each boasting stadia with at least 20,000 more seats.

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The topic of renovation (and relocation) came up regularly during the final years of Abramovich's reign as owner. London mayor Sadiq Khan previously approved a major remodel of Stamford Bridge, only for the plans to be ditched in 2020 following a drawn-out council dispute.

That came after Abramovich once looked to the disused Battersea Power Station as a potential site for a relocation. The move would have seen Chelsea adopt a new 60,000-seater stadium among the four iconic chimney stacks, but those plans also failed to bear fruit.

Long gone are the days when six-figure attendances weren't as uncommon in football, with reform to safe-standing policies prioritised in the decades since. The sport is unlikely to witness a return to those kinds of crowds, particularly given the rise in real estate costs in England's capital.

It wasn't long after Boehly's arrival in west London that new plans for a relocation to Earl's Court were mooted. The LA Dodgers owner hasn't been afraid to dip into his pocket to invest in the club thus far, but if the club's recent player recruitment is any indication of value, staying put may not be such a bad thing after all.