Football finance expert Stefan Borson believes that Chelsea will find it much more challenging to do what Tottenham Hotspur did back in 2019.
Chelsea following Tottenham’s lead
After seeing their London rivals move to a state-of-the-art stadium in 2019, Chelsea are now making plans to do the same.
Just like Spurs constructed their new stadium in the same location as the old White Hart Lane, The Standard reported earlier this month that the Blues want to redevelop Stamford Bridge and thus have purchased a 2.47-acre site next to their stadium for that purpose.
However, it was explained that the West London club will not be in possession of the newly acquired site until 2027 so that the site’s current residents can first be re-housed.
Chelsea cannot mimic Spurs
However, Borson pointed out that the project will be much more challenging for Chelsea than it was for Tottenham.
He explained that while Spurs were able to play at White Hart Lane during the early phase of their stadium construction, Chelsea will have to spend a much longer duration away from Stamford Bridge as there is not enough space for them to imitate what Tottenham did.
Borson told Football Insider about Chelsea’s plans: “I’m not sure they have got the amount of space Spurs had. If you remember what Spurs did, for most of the build, they built on an adjacent site.
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“That meant they were able to keep the stadium open for most of the build. I don’t know if Chelsea can do that. I don’t know if there is sufficient space to do that. It’s not a simple project.”
Tottenham’s stadium is the envy of Premier League
Spurs did have to go through significant hardships when the stadium was being constructed as not only did they have to play at Wembley nearly for two full seasons but they were also restricted in the transfer market due to the cost of the operation.
However, having taken their medicine, the Lilywhites are now enjoying the fruits of their sacrifice, with the club’s revenue continuing to increase every season due to the earning potential of the stadium.
The likes of Chelsea, Everton and others would now have to negotiate an extremely tricky spell if they want to ape Spurs.