THE HISTORY OF CHELSEA'S STAMFORD BRIDGE (COMPLETE GUIDE)

Stamford Bridge has been the home of Chelsea Football Club for over 100 years and has seen some magical players, moments and matches during that time. But it hasn't been plain sailing for the Blues at the West London ground, having faced a host of setbacks and adversity in the stadium's development and existence.

The stadium is unrecognisable from when it was built in 1877 and when Chelsea were established in 1905. It has undergone significant structural changes in that time, with the transition from terraces to all-covered and all-seated stadiums the requirement in England's top divisions. While the changes were necessary, they were not always successfully implemented and during the 1970s and 80s, the club faced the prospect of bankruptcy and losing their home.

The club worked their way through this difficult period and saw Stamford Bridge turn into a modern-day stadium that played host to one of English football's most successful periods under the ownership of Roman Abramovich. Now, with Todd Boehly completing a £4.25 billion takeover of the club, the Bridge has fallen behind Europe's elite in several ways and the club are deciding once again which direction they will go to transform the stadium to keep up with the times. This article takes a look at the full history of Stamford Bridge.

Timeline of Events

Stadium Origins

Stamford Bridge first opened on 28 April 1877 and for the first 27 years of its existence was used by the London Athletic Club. Following football's growing popularity in the north of England and the Midlands, the ground was obtained by brothers Mr Henry Augustus Mears and Mr J T Mears to host the upcoming sport there.

The brothers proposed plans designed by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, who had designed many other football grounds in England and the 120-yard-long stand to hold 5,000 fans included in the plans was a common feature of Leitch's previous work. Excavated material from the construction of the Piccadilly Line underground railway was used to support the high terracing for standing fans.

The original capacity was planned to be 100,000, making it the second largest in the country behind Crystal Palace’s ground. The stadium was initially offered to Fulham, but they turned this down, which led to Chelsea’s establishment in March 1905 and the team moving into the stadium for the new campaign just a few months later.

The team quickly found success, achieving promotion to the Football League Division One after just two years, while attracting crowds of 60,000 in the first campaign. The stadium also hosted the FA Cup final between 1920 and 1922.

Stamford Bridge Facts

Stamford Bridge was the Yorkshire site on which a successful battle against the Vikings took place in 1066 but the naming of Chelsea’s ground came from much closer to home. Maps from the 18th century show a stream running along the route of the current railway line behind the East Stand called the Stanford Creek.

The stream meets Fulham Road at ‘Little Chelsea Bridge’ which was originally called Sanford Bridge and another bridge further down Stanford Creek was named Stanbridge. The combination of the two bridges and the stream appeared to evolve into the name Stanford Bridge which later became Stamford Bridge - hence the name of the nearby stadium.

The Shed End

The first notable change in the stadium’s appearance came in the 1930s when the southern terrace was given a partial covering. This covering was commissioned by the Greyhound Racing Association to cover bookmakers and customers, with the stadium’s track hosting dog races for several decades.

Thirty years later, a supporter called Cliff Webb had a letter published in a matchday programme asking for the Fulham Road End to be known as the ‘The Shed’ and for the vocal fans to gather there for games. His request became a reality and the new stand at the south end which replaced the old terrace in 1997 is still known as the Shed.

The North Stand

The north end of the stadium also transformed during the 1930s, with construction of a new covered seating area commencing in 1939. The Second World War disrupted this addition, but when the stadium opened in 1945, there was now a raised seated tier over the northeast corner of the standing terrace.

There were reports this stand shook when trains would go by, but it managed to survive 30 years before it was pulled down to make way for the opening of a new and significantly bigger East Stand. The North Stand, now completely open again, remained until 1993 when the transition to an all-seated stadium started.

The East and West Stands

The development of a new West Stand took place during 1965 which had a roof and would seat 6,000 fans. A standing area remained but would also later seat supporters in an area that would become known as ‘The Benches’. The six hospitality boxes at the back of the stand made Stamford Bridge the second ground in England to provide such luxury, following in the footsteps of Old Trafford.

Following the construction of the new West Stand, a decaying 60-year-old East Stand and the team experiencing on-field success, winning the FA Cup in 1970 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup a year later, the directors’ ambitions for Stamford Bridge grew once again. The goal was to transform the ground into an all-covered and all-seater stadium to host 60,000.

However, a poorly run project, an unconsidered drop in attendance and a national recession meant the developments were delayed, over budget and were limited for now to the East Stand. With the team’s performances also facing a downturn, this culminated in the club finding itself in a perilous position, being forced to sell some of their top players, facing relegation and ultimately coming close to bankruptcy.

When the East Stand opened in 1974 it looked somewhat out of place, far greater in stature than the rest of the ground. However, it now covered the old dog track bringing the fans closer to the action and the steeper design of the stand gave unprecedented views from the upper tiers.

'Save the Bridge' Campaign

The position of the club - both in financial and footballing terms - saw the future of Stamford Bridge come into question during the 1980s as the club was sold to businessman Ken Bates and the stadium changed ownership, with former directors selling shares to property developers.

Chelsea had the right to continue playing at the Bridge initially, but in the long term, faced the possibility of the stadium being turned into housing or a supermarket and a ground-share with neighbouring Fulham or Queens Park Rangers - a prospect which didn’t delight the Blues’ faithful. A ‘Save the Bridge’ campaign was created to fund the legal costs of the 10-year battle that ensued, which was eventually resolved for the club in 1992 as a collapse in the property market forced the developers into bankruptcy.

To prevent the club from facing similar crises in the future, Bates introduced the Chelsea Pitch Owners scheme. Chelsea Pitch Owners is a company with over 21,000 shares owned by Chelsea fans and holds the freehold of the stadium. With the future of Stamford Bridge looking brighter and secure, and the team back in the top flight following promotion in 1989, development plans for the rest of the stadium were able to continue in 1993.

The Matthew Harding Stand

The transition to an all-seater stadium, which was now the requirement in the upper divisions of English football, began with the redevelopment of the North Stand Area.

The old semicircular terrace for away fans was demolished and a new two-tier stand for home supporters opened in November 1994 that would be renamed the Matthew Harding stand two years later in memory of the club’s vice-chairman who was killed in a helicopter accident. Harding’s financial loan was a huge boost to the building of the stand, which to this day is the home of Chelsea’s most vocal fans on matchdays.

Work then began on a new seated Shed End before a two-year dispute over planning permission delayed the completion of the West Stand. Eventually, Chelsea won this battle and by the 2001/02 campaign, the new 13,500 seater stand - the biggest part of the stadium - was ready for use, completing the transition to an all-seated Stamford Bridge nearly 30 years after it started.

The stadium now has a capacity of 40,341 and has hotels, restaurants, and a music venue as part of its 12.5-acre site, with almost no part of the ground recognisable from its early days.

Redevelopment Project and the Future

As Chelsea established themselves as a European force during Roman Abramovich's tenure at the club, winning the Champions League on two occasions, the opportunity and demand for a larger stadium has become a more pressing and discussed matter. Plans were in place for a £500 million renovation project led by Swiss Architects with designs for the stadium released in 2015. However, the planning consent for the project expired in 2020 after it was put on hold in 2018 due to a poor investment climate, according to World Architecture.

After Todd Boehly took over the Blues in May 2022, one condition of the sale was a strong commitment to building Chelsea a stadium worthy of their position in the game. Despite its character, Stamford Bridge currently has the ninth-largest capacity in the Premier League.

The new owners have continuously delayed their communication of the plans for the stadium since their arrival and are faced with three options, which will all involve significant expenses and resources. They could look to expand the current stands of Stamford Bridge, demolish the stadium and rebuild on the same site, or explore the option of moving to a different site close by.

Following the news that Chelsea will complete the purchase of the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site next to Stamford Bridge, as reported by the Athletic at the start of April, it appears the owners are veering towards the first two options and are looking to stay on the current grounds. The 1.9-acre site gives the club greater flexibility should they choose to expand or rebuild Stamford Bridge, but they are not expected to take possession of the site until the end of 2025 at the earliest and Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are still yet to rule out a new stadium somewhere else.

2024-05-05T16:04:29Z dg43tfdfdgfd