A Question of Stadia

[Jimboola69]

Everyone is building a new Stadium these days.

Man Ure are just building upwards, 'Old Stretford' remains.

The Arse have 'Cash-Burden Grave' now.

The Spuds are set to move out of 'Three point' Lane

Even the dirty filthy scousers are set to move. Everton to a place probably called 'Toffee Towers' and the vile reds of the city will of course have the brand new (paid for from the proceeds of stolen TV's) 'San Giro'.

Now the question is...

Am I just posting this topic to start up the whole 'we need a new stadium debate'?

(we do by the way...cut prices by 1/3rd and we will easily get back those that can no longer afford Chelsea), we get more money through the turnstiles AND merchandise.

OR am I just listing joke stadium names after a drinkies session with my mates where we were basically taking the piss out of other clubs, their grounds etc.

Answers on a text to 555 - WINDUP

[The Moos]

I think I'll go with both answers

And we could do with another stadium, if it's a good one and it lowers the ticket prices. And the stadium needs to have an excellent atmosphere (I guess the fans will have to help out with this )

[Guest Brian M]

The wind-up line was busy when I called (but I believe they still may have charged my credit card, the swines!) so...yes we do need a new bigger stadium more in line with our stature as 'A big club in Europe'...

[sergeyMS]

Pictures of new Valencia`s stadium were just amazing...... I`ve seen them in topic `Greatest stadiums`

But, correct me if I`m wrong, it would be very difficult for Chelsea to build(find a place) and `maintain` such a stadium.

[loz]

Sergey

We could find a place (in fact, according to many reports, we already own a place), and courtesy of Roman's deep pockets, and the financial status of the Premiership, we could certainly build a place and maintain it however what I very much doubt we would do is fill the place week in week out.

[Jack]

I went round the stadium yesterday with my son (birthday present) and there is a lot of work going on at the moment - new press box, restaurants being overhauled, new reception area etc. I think the plan is to build up the fan-base (as Loz says I doubt we'd fill a 70k arena every week), create demand which in turn justifies the move. I wouldn't be surprised if Kenyon began a season ticket waiting list just so he would have that safety net and information - knowing just how many fans would want to come.

[Guest Brian M]

When booking a venue (say, for example you're bringing out a band, or a celeb on a speaking tour or whatnot) you book the venue knowing it has a maximum capacity of 15,000 seats (for example). But you book it safe in the knowledge that if the crowd is smaller than expected, the walls are moveable and the capacity scalable, so - ultimately - whether you have 5,000 or 15,000 people, the place will always appear 'full'. Surely this same technology (or similar) can be implemented in the design of a football stadium? I mean, come on, we've got roofs that open and close at the flick of a switch, so I can't imagine this would be such a huge ask from an engineering perspective. And that way, whether we had 40,000 or 80,000, a new Stamford Bridge could always look packed to the rafters.

My 2 cents.

[loz]

NO idea about the logistics of that Brian - I would imagine it is far easier in a venue like a music venue where there are often multiple halls within one complex so moving the walls is pretty straight forward as the stages and seats can be moved very very quickly. A stadium is a little different becaus eit is, in essence, one big 'hall' and you would actually be talking about moving a wall form the back of a stand down to the middle of a stand rather than just moving it in or out on a flat surface.

Anyway the last bloody thing we need is the media being able to mock us for having to shrink our stadium because we can't fill it.

[sergeyMS]

Sergey

We could find a place (in fact, according to many reports, we already own a place), and courtesy of Roman's deep pockets, and the financial status of the Premiership, we could certainly build a place and maintain it however what I very much doubt we would do is fill the place week in week out.

Oh. Loz, I mean `maintain` not financially, but yes - filling it on a constant basis.

Is it important for Chelsea to have a stadium in South London only?

For example, in Moscow there are 4 great russian clubs, and some new stadiums are going to be build on outskirts of the city in different parts of Moscow. (Old stadium was in South, new one is in North-east)

[loz]

Well personally I hate the idea of us moving at all but if we absolutely had to move then I would be livid if we actually shifted to an entirely different area of London.

[Guest Brian M]

A new ground would have to be close to the old stadium. A club grows out of its location. And its 'roots' - while they can be stretched - can't be severed completely.

The 'buying and moving the franchise' concept would never fly in the EPL.

You can't do an MK Dons and expect to live to tell the tale.