Friday, June 8, 2012

Battersea Stadium, A Ray of Hope Left For Chelsea.

Many a Chelsea fan would have been following the ambitious Battersea Power Station project of Chelsea. Plans were to build a new 60,000 seats stadium so as to make Chelsea FC compete with other European giants and also help them break even in the Financial Fair Play regulations. Unfortunately, Chelsea FC was outbid by S P Setia and Sime Darby, Malaysian developers joint venture.


All is not lost for Chelsea yet. The Malaysians have been given 28 days, to assess the finer details of their project, and prove they have the capability to complete the project. They could back out of the project,

if they believe the project is beyond their expertise. The entire project is estimated to be £8 billion in Gross Development Value, according to RHB Research, a leading national bank in Malaysia. Most of the finance is to come in as bank borrowings. Unless, they can make sure that the project will break even and help them make profits, the developers will not proceed with their plans. However, it is not likely that the developers will walk out now, as they would have done their research on the project prior to bidding.

On the other hand, the likely possibility is that the Malaysian JV could invite Chelsea to be part of the development, in the future. During this whole bidding process, there were reports that Chelsea's development plans were unacceptable to a few groups. Some complaints being that Chelsea's plans would destroy the heritage of Battersea Power Station.

However, there are rumors that Chelsea's developers have revised their plans, which incorporates the Battersea Power Station into the stadium, according to The Independent. If one's memory serves correct, in the earlier plans, only the four iconic towers were to be preserved. A move that did not please a lot of concerned authorities.

Battersea Power Station was the top location for Chelsea's new stadium. Other potential locations are already earmarked for projects such as housing projects.

The best news to come out today is that Hammersmith and Fulham Council have offered to help Chelsea upgrade their existing Stadium at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea Football Club for 107 years. The council and the Chelsea Pitch Owners have always wanted CFC to remain at SW6. By the looks of it, they just might get their wishes granted.

As long as Chelsea FC can develop Stamford Bridge to international standards, such as the San Siro, Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabéu, earn more revenue and hold on to their traditional base, everyone from fan to club official and our beloved owner Roman would be happy.

ChelseaFC360 has been following this news closely as is the case with every other Chelsea related news. As and when more news breaks out, we will update our fellow Blues. Till then as always KTBFFH.


7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the news CFC360.. :)

    Hope we get this sorted.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hmm.. Thanks for the news. Hope the Malaysians find it too expensive.. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LoL.. Malaysians will find it expensive.. :)


    BTW, nice article writer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I still prefer Stamford Bridge..


    X| ... Nice work BTW

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great to know Chelsea fans are still following this closely. Fan choice is Stamford Bridge. CFC could still feature at Battersea. Only time will tell.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hopefull still..... :)

    ReplyDelete