At least two of the shortlisted bidders to buy Chelsea "have told supporters they are looking at plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge without knocking down the entire stadium -- which could save fans five years away from their traditional home," according to Matt Law of the London TELEGRAPH. The consortiums fronted by former British Airways and Liverpool Chair Martin Broughton and Dodgers co-Owner Todd Boehly have "discussed the prospect of rebuilding Stamford Bridge stand by stand." Unlike the Ricketts family, none of the other three shortlisted bidders "have so far made their agendas public or commented on their plans." Stamford Bridge "will be one of the main topics of discussion, when all of the four shortlisted groups meet Chelsea executives this week ahead of next Monday's deadline for improved offers." Outgoing Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich's plan, which the club received planning permission for, was to "move the club out of Stamford Bridge while the existing stadium was demolished and a new super-stadium was built." At the time, the project was priced at US$656M with an estimated demolition and build time of three years, during which Chelsea was "expected to play at Wembley." But sources believe that a similar project would now cost well over US$1.9B and that it would "require the team to play away from Stamford Bridge for around five years" (London TELEGRAPH, 4/4).
RICKETTS UNVEIL SOME DETAILS
