Where Chelsea could play during desired Stamford Bridge rebuild | OneFootball

Chelsea's proposed Stamford Bridge rebuild could see the Blues forced to find a temporary home when work on the project eventually starts, with Twickenham put forward as a viable option.

With Stamford Bridge considerably smaller than the likes of Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium, Chelsea have wanted to redevelop and grow their stadium for close to 20 years.

It started relatively early during Roman Abramovich's ownership but has been resurrected and taken on new life since the BlueCo takeover in 2022.

Chelsea secured a deal in 2023, due to come into force in 2025, to purchase £80m worth of neighbouring land from a veterans charity that would enable a redevelopment of the stadium and surrounding area. The land, home to 6,500 military pensioners, was listed for sale and the club was reported at the time to have beaten competition from 13 rival bidders.

Redeveloping Stamford Bridge one stand at a time, in line with Liverpool's approach to Anfield, is not seen as ideal. They are more likely to bulldoze the existing stadium and build from the ground up on the same site. But while Manchester United will not be forced out due to the size of the wider Old Trafford site, Chelsea, even with the new adjacent land purchase, lack the space amongst busy London streets to be able to leave Stamford Bridge as it is while a new stadium is being built.

Twickenham is in London's western outskirts / Ryan Pierse/GettyImages

Chelsea have previously explored playing at Twickenham, the home of English rugby union and currently known as the Allianz Stadium for sponsorship purposes. The 82,000-capacity venue is around seven miles further west to the outskirts of London in Richmond upon Thames.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have essentially opened the doors at Twickenham to Chelsea, in the hope of it being financially rewarded as part of efforts to use the stadium for more non-rugby events.

"It would allow it to happen, there have been conversations previously about possible [Premier League] clubs coming here," RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said, via The Telegraph.

"Richmond council, Richmond borough is more concerned about [local impact]. I just think in terms of impact on local residents, numbers of fans and so on they’re a little bit more sensitive. It may depend on which club it is.

"It would be a big financial number, I know Richmond borough would definitely have a conversation about that though."