Craven Cottage is tiny.  

 

Rumour had it a few months back that because Twickenham's council changed from Lib Dem to Tory, they were considering changing the regs to allow Chelsea to play there (money talks for Tories!) but I don't know what happened after that.  Anyway I think Twickenham is dead in the water now.

 

But that's the option that I'd prefer.  It's West London.  And it's where I grew up so I know it well.  But my sister would hate it.  Even though she goes to loads of home games she'd hate the disruption.

Edited January 25, 201610 yr by Beerqueen

Craven Cottage is tiny.  

 

Rumour had it a few months back that because Twickenham's council changed from Lib Dem to Tory, they were considering changing the regs to allow Chelsea to play there (money talks for Tories!) but I don't know what happened after that.  Anyway I think Twickenham is dead in the water now.

 

But that's the option that I'd prefer.  It's West London.  And it's where I grew up so I know it well.  But my sister would hate it.  Even though she goes to loads of home games she'd hate the disruption.

 

What about 'The Valley' or is that too far east?

What about 'The Valley' or is that too far east?

 

The Valley has a capacity of 27,000 about 1.500 more than the Cottage. Once ST holders have taken their seats it wouldn't leave many seats for members and away fans.  I think it is the most easterly ground in London. 

The Valley has a capacity of 27,000 about 1.500 more than the Cottage. Once ST holders have taken their seats it wouldn't leave many seats for members and away fans.  I think it is the most easterly ground in London. 

 

Sounds like Wembley is the only hope then of staying close to West London. Oh well. Thanks for the insights...I find London a fascinating city. I like to compare it to LA (where I grow up). Totally different vibe being London filled w/ history & LA filled w/ Glamour.

On the news last week there was an article about Brompton Cemetery being re-furbished. Will be interesting to see if there is any impact on the re-development of the Bridge.

 

https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/brompton-cemetery/brompton-cemetery-conservation-project

 

This Friday is the CPO AGM. After which CPO shareholders can meet the architects and club to discuss the new ground. Am going and will ask about the impact of the work at the Cemetery; the move to Wembley; and how the application with the council is progressing.

Sounds like Wembley is the only hope then of staying close to West London. Oh well. Thanks for the insights...I find London a fascinating city. I like to compare it to LA (where I grow up). Totally different vibe being London filled w/ history & LA filled w/ Glamour.

 

It's funny, there's not much difference in distance from the Bridge to Wembley or Twickenham, but I've always thought of Wembley as north London.  I guess it is only just north and definitely to the west.  But it was completely alien to me growing up.  It just feels completely different.  Though, that said, Twickenham doesn't have the same feel as Fulham either.  I'm rambling now.

It's funny, there's not much difference in distance from the Bridge to Wembley or Twickenham, but I've always thought of Wembley as north London.  I guess it is only just north and definitely to the west.  But it was completely alien to me growing up.  It just feels completely different.  Though, that said, Twickenham doesn't have the same feel as Fulham either.  I'm rambling now.

 

Not at all. Tell us more about your feelings

It's funny, there's not much difference in distance from the Bridge to Wembley or Twickenham, but I've always thought of Wembley as north London.  I guess it is only just north and definitely to the west.  But it was completely alien to me growing up.  It just feels completely different.  Though, that said, Twickenham doesn't have the same feel as Fulham either.  I'm rambling now.

 

During my stay in London, I can kinda of relate what you are saying about Fulham. You are giving me something I can visualize. I still find it crazy how Stamford Bridge damn smack in the middle of town.

During my stay in London, I can kinda of relate what you are saying about Fulham. You are giving me something I can visualize. I still find it crazy how Stamford Bridge damn smack in the middle of town.

In the old days, football grounds were always in the middle of town.  Now the rebuilt ones are on the outskirts.  With a lack of pubs nearby which is a shame.

In the old days, football grounds were always in the middle of town.  Now the rebuilt ones are on the outskirts.  With a lack of pubs nearby which is a shame.

 

That is how things used to be here. Now there is a move to have downtown stadiums/arenas. Sacramento has just completed building a downtown arena for the local NBA team. Now there is a movement for a downtown stadium for our footie team. We don't have a big enough complex to feed the need of the people for footie.

During my stay in London, I can kinda of relate what you are saying about Fulham. You are giving me something I can visualize. I still find it crazy how Stamford Bridge damn smack in the middle of town.

 

The location is certainly a big part of the Chelsea identity for me. Being so close to the centre really hit me (in a positive way) when I was first in London.

The location is certainly a big part of the Chelsea identity for me. Being so close to the centre really hit me (in a positive way) when I was first in London.

 

then you add the historic part to the equation. I was at this pub having some fish & chips & was told that it was like 800 years old. Hell, my buddy had me goto that pub across the street from Stamford Bridge. Little did I know, I was in the Birthplace of Chelsea Football Club. I love that about London.

then you add the historic part to the equation. I was at this pub having some fish & chips & was told that it was like 800 years old. Hell, my buddy had me goto that pub across the street from Stamford Bridge. Little did I know, I was in the Birthplace of Chelsea Football Club. I love that about London.

Mate the whole country is filled with history not just London, you can go anywhere here & you'll find an historical link, i love our history, in a lot of villages if your looking for an old church good chance you'll also find an old English pub nearby or vice versa, there's probably 100s of places i could mention.

 

Regards football stadiums here, the actor David Soul from the USA & Starsky & Hutch fame once said he supports Arsenal because by pure accident he came out of Arsenal tube station & couldnt believe right there across the road only yards apart & surrounded by old Victorian houses & gardens was their Highbury stadium, overpowering everything around it almost like an alien spaceship had landed, that for me is a great metaphor regards our old grounds.

 

To me when we went up north especially night games or in the winter months there was no better sight or feeling than walking up a Northern cobbled street surrounded by houses & not knowing if Northern natives were laying in wait ready to ambush you, then in the distance you see the floodlights all lit up, a beacon of light bouncing off an old corrugated iron roof over the top of the stands, then the closer you'd get you'd hear the chants of CHELSEA CHELSEA CHELSEA sung by 100s if not 1,000s queuing up at the turnstiles while some fat Northern copper with his straps on his helmet tucked tight under his double chins would call you a cockney c**t while rifling through your pockets, once inside the ground there would be a good chance you'd be stood in the open in the pissing rain, if you got to see a win then the long journey home wouldnt seem as long, a defeat especially heavy defeat it would seem like it took you days to get home, you'd moan & say f@ck this i'm not going away again then two weeks later or whenever you'd be straight on the Chelsea special train heading North again to do it all again, thats football.

 

Have a look on Google there's some great pictures of old English grounds from inside & from the streets, you'll get an idea of just what i mean.

Mate the whole country is filled with history not just London, you can go anywhere here & you'll find an historical link, i love our history, in a lot of villages if your looking for an old church good chance you'll also find an old English pub nearby or vice versa, there's probably 100s of places i could mention.

 

Regards football stadiums here, the actor David Soul from the USA & Starsky & Hutch fame once said he supports Arsenal because by pure accident he came out of Arsenal tube station & couldnt believe right there across the road only yards apart & surrounded by old Victorian houses & gardens was their Highbury stadium, overpowering everything around it almost like an alien spaceship had landed, that for me is a great metaphor regards our old grounds.

 

To me when we went up north especially night games or in the winter months there was no better sight or feeling than walking up a Northern cobbled street surrounded by houses & not knowing if Northern natives were laying in wait ready to ambush you, then in the distance you see the floodlights all lit up, a beacon of light bouncing off an old corrugated iron roof over the top of the stands, then the closer you'd get you'd hear the chants of CHELSEA CHELSEA CHELSEA sung by 100s if not 1,000s queuing up at the turnstiles while some fat Northern copper with his straps on his helmet tucked tight under his double chins would call you a cockney c**t while rifling through your pockets, once inside the ground there would be a good chance you'd be stood in the open in the pissing rain, if you got to see a win then the long journey home wouldnt seem as long, a defeat especially heavy defeat it would seem like it took you days to get home, you'd moan & say f@ck this i'm not going away again then two weeks later or whenever you'd be straight on the Chelsea special train heading North again to do it all again, thats football.

 

Have a look on Google there's some great pictures of old English grounds from inside & from the streets, you'll get an idea of just what i mean.

 

Great post, you summed up football here in a few words. Feel exactly the same,pity a lot of souless stadiums have taken the place of some of the good old grounds of days gone.

Great post, you summed up football here in a few words. Feel exactly the same,pity a lot of souless stadiums have taken the place of some of the good old grounds of days gone.

 

Yeah even my local team, Shrewsbury, have moved to a ground on the edge of town.  It's nice but not the same as a ground in the middle of town with loads of pubs to choose from and walking distance from the station.

Yeah even my local team, Shrewsbury, have moved to a ground on the edge of town. It's nice but not the same as a ground in the middle of town with loads of pubs to choose from and walking distance from the station.

Yeah even my local team, Shrewsbury, have moved to a ground on the edge of town. It's nice but not the same as a ground in the middle of town with loads of pubs to choose from and walking distance from the station.

And kicking distance from the river...

And kicking distance from the river...

 

Keep it quiet, but the only reason they moved was that the bloke in the coracle retired.

CPO Chairman's Statement. Read out at today's CPO AGM

 

http://www.chelseafc.com/content/dam/cfc/pdf-word-documents/CPO/CPO%20AGM%20Chairman%20statement%20for%20Website%202016.pdf

 

Voting Results. Voting was during and in advance of the meeting.

 

http://www.chelseafc.com/content/dam/cfc/pdf-word-documents/CPO/CPO%20AGM%20Final%20Voting%20Report%202016.pdf

 

Resolutions voted on. On page 4.

 

http://www.chelseafc.com/content/dam/cfc/pdf-word-documents/CPO/F3616_P1%20Chelsea%20Pitch%20Owners%20BP%20WEB.pdf

 

I was at the AGM this morning. Took some notes which I hope to post this weekend.

Found this image and it raised a laugh. A study from 1963 by Taylor Woodrow called Urban Renewal-Fulham Study which showed a (then) futuristic redevelopment of Fulham Broadway and the surrounding area. The Architects - Archigram proposed covering the whole of Stamford Bridge in a large Geodesic Dome. Never got any further than a few drawings.

 

Found this image and it raised a laugh. A study from 1963 by Taylor Woodrow called Urban Renewal-Fulham Study which showed a (then) futuristic redevelopment of Fulham Broadway and the surrounding area. The Architects - Archigram proposed covering the whole of Stamford Bridge in a large Geodesic Dome. Never got any further than a few drawings.

 

 

All that's missing from this is Fry, Bender, Zoidberg and the rest.

All that's missing from this is Fry, Bender, Zoidberg and the rest.

 

Oh no. That wouldn't end well for the Bridge...

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2016/02/stamford-bridge-gates--a-design-competition.html

 

Stamford Bridge Gates – a design competition

NEWSSAT 20 FEB 2016

Chelsea Football Club’s planning application for an expanded stadium is pending and if the redevelopment goes ahead, we want supporters to help create it by designing a new landmark - the Stamford Bridge Gates.

The Gates will be one of the most prominent features of the site and their design is to be chosen by a competition, with the full details and the background to it given below…

Stamford Bridge is the bridge which carries Fulham Road over the West London Railway Line at the south-east corner of Stamford Bridge Grounds, historic home of Chelsea Football Club.

As part of the new stadium development, subject to planning permission, we are expanding the actual bridge, linking Fulham Road directly to the East Stand.

To mark this new bridge, our council of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has requested a landmark set of Bridge Gates.

Respecting the heritage of the site, we are following the great London tradition of public design competitions for epic city structures, for example from Tower Bridge in 1876 to the Royal Parks competition for gates to Hyde Park today.

So the gates for Stamford Bridge will be designed by public competition, open to everyone.

 

COMPETITION RULES AND BRIEF

The competition will be in three rounds:

ROUND 1

22 February to 24 March

All entries accepted

 

ROUND 2

15 April

A short-list of six will be selected and publicised by the Special Gates Committee

 

FINAL ROUND

15 May

Two finalists will be decided by the committee and presented at the final home match of the 2015/16 season.

The winner will be chosen in the stadium.

 

The rules of the competition are simple in order to make the competition as easy as possible to enter.

Entries:

Entries will be accepted from 9am Monday 22 February until the closing date of 12 noon Thursday 24 March 2016.

Details of where to upload or post entries will be announced on Monday.

Entries should be a minimum of one and a maximum of two design images, which can be hand-drawn in pencil or professionally produced by a design studio, or something in-between.

Size for hard copies: minimum size A4 paper, maximum size A2.

For digital uploads: please ensure the drawing resolution can be reproduced satisfactorily to the above hard copy sizes.
 

The Special Gates Committee will have 11 members and is intended to reflect the range of interests in the gates and in the Club; the committee will include representatives of the local authorities, heritage and design interests, local groups and the Club.

 

Location of the Gates

The Gates should be located just behind the row of bollards in the foreground.

Dimensions of the Gates

Width: The Gates should be approximately 15 metres in width.

Height: The Gates should be a minimum height of 3 metres to a maximum of 7 metres.

Material examples: metals, ceramic, glass, brick.

The design must be capable of fabrication to withstand robust and long-term use.

The Gates do not have to be symmetrical.

The Gates are to be working gates.

The Gates will usually be locked in a closed position on non-matchdays.

The Gates must fully open on matchdays.

A technical panel from the stadium project team will ensure the final designs comply with operational requirements.

 

DESIGN BRIEF

The design of the Gates of Stamford Bridge must be inspired by the following contexts:

1)           Club identity

2)           Club heritage

3)           Design of proposed stadium façade

4)           Historic location of and on Stamford Bridge itself

5)           Surrounding conservation areas

6)           Borough boundary

7)           London landmarks (especially bridges and gates)

 

BRIDGE HISTORY

There has been a stone bridge fording a tributary of the Thames at this site for over six hundred years.

The current bridge was erected in 1863.

There is still a water course running beneath the railway line, which emerges at Counters Creek into the river today.

The first literary reference to a bridge here dates to 1410, in the eleventh year of the reign of Henry IV.

Henry’s administrators carried out an audit of civic infrastructure and surveyed that the existing Sanfordbregge was in 1410 in poor repair and in need of attention.

It is likely therefore that even earlier, wooden structures previously bridged the water course at this site.

A notice of repair was then sent in 1410 to the local lord of the manor, owner of the bridge, a record of which survives to this day.

The next found reference is from 1422, when a reminder note was sent to the bridge owner, as no repairs had yet been carried out.

2022 will be the 600th anniversary of the reminder note, by when we think it will be time to fix the bridge finally, hence the design competition.

By the time the Gates are installed, Chelsea Football Club will be welcoming the 80 millionth spectator to a home match at Stamford Bridge since 1905.

Good luck to all competitors – may the best design end up on the Bridge for the next 80 million to pass through!

 

 

Edited February 20, 201610 yr by fitz

A 17 year old me crying into my dinner because we won the league would be a great image.

On a serious note what a great idea, anyone entering?

Time to get the crayons out of retirement.