Mayor of London approves 60,000 seat landmark
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has given Chelsea the all clear to go ahead with its Herzog & de Meuron-designed plans to redevelop its Stamford Bridge home.
The Premier League club had already won approval from Hammersmith & Fulham council in January for the proposals to create a new 60,000-seat stadium 鈥� upping Stamford Bridge鈥檚 current capacity by almost 50%.
Chelsea is now expected to begin looking for a contractor, with Multiplex, Mace and Sir Robert McAlpine thought to be likely bidders.
Khan said: 鈥淟ondon is one of the world鈥檚 greatest sporting cities and I鈥檓 delighted that we will soon add Chelsea鈥檚 new stadium to the already fantastic array of sporting arenas in the capital.
鈥淗aving taken a balanced view of the application, I鈥檓 satisfied this is a high-quality and spectacular design which will significantly increase capacity within the existing site, as well as ensuring fans can have easy access from nearby transport connections.
鈥淚鈥檓 confident this new stadium will be a jewel in London鈥檚 sporting crown and will attract visitors and football fans from around the world.鈥�
The decision comes after over a year of scrutiny, which has seen concerns over the scheme鈥檚 impact on issues ranging from the local bat population to traffic levels.
Herzog & de Meuron鈥檚 proposal will replace Stamford Bridge鈥檚 collection of disconnected stands with a single, unified brick-clad stadium, expanding the constrained site by decking over an adjacent railway line.
The practice, which was responsible for the 2008 Beijing Olympics鈥� 鈥淏ird鈥檚 Nest鈥� stadium, said its Chelsea design had been inspired by the gothic architecture of Westminster Abbey, which once owned the Stamford Bridge site and the brickwork of Fulham鈥檚 terraced streets.
Arcadis is cost manager, WSP and Schlaich Bergermann are providing engineering services, while WSP is also providing transport consultancy, and Aecom is strategic planner. The scheme鈥檚 鈥済othic skin鈥� facade is being engineered by Eckersley O鈥機allaghan.
Chelsea has previously targeted a 2021 completion date for the stadium.
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