Stamford Bridge (stadium)

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Stamford Bridge
The Bridge
The interior of Stamford Bridge (2009)
The interior of Stamford Bridge (2009)
Data
place Fulham Road Fulham , London SW6 1HS, United Kingdom
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
Coordinates 51 ° 28 '54 "  N , 0 ° 11' 27"  W Coordinates: 51 ° 28 '54 "  N , 0 ° 11' 27"  W.
owner Chelsea Pitch Owners plc
opening April 28, 1877
Renovations 1905, 1973, 1984, 1990-1998
surface Natural grass
architect Archibald Leitch (1905)
KSS Group (1990–1998)
capacity 40,853 seats
playing area 103 × 67 m
Societies)
Events

The Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in London district of Fulham , which since 1905 mainly from the football club Chelsea FC is used.

Surname

The stadium name comes from a river called Stanford Creek , which used to run on what is now the railway line behind the East Stand and flow into the Thames . The point where he crossed Fulham Road was marked Little Chelsea Bridge on an 18th century map . Originally, however, the bridge was called the Sanford Bridge (based on Sand Ford , German  Sand ford ). The bridge, which is slightly further south King's Road led across the river, was called Stanbridge (from Stonebridge , German  stone bridge ). The two bridge names and the river name probably gave rise to the name Stanford Bridge , which later changed to Stamford Bridge . From 1824 to 1828 the Stanford Creek River became part of the Kensington Canal . From 1859 to 1863, today's West London Line was built on the Kensington Canal .

history

The stadium was officially opened on April 28, 1877. It was designed as a pure athletics stadium. Football shouldn't be played here yet. Due to its location in Fulham near the center on Fulham Road , Fulham FC was the first to be offered to play its football matches in this stadium. Since the latter refused, the newly founded Chelsea FC moved in instead in 1905. Since then, the stadium has undergone a series of renovations. The last step was completed on August 19, 2001. The stadium is now a pure football arena. Particularly well-known is the “Shed End” south stand, which was previously reserved exclusively for Chelsea fans, but is now partially used as a guest block.

Stamford Bridge was opened on April 28, 1877 as the home of the London Athletic Club. Chelsea FC was only founded in 1905 and has played in London's largest club stadium since its first game on September 4, 1905 against Liverpool FC. In the game against city rivals Arsenal FC on October 12, 1935, 82,905 spectators ensured an all-time visitor record. At that time, the stadium was used multifunctionally, and the track remained until the 1990s.

The oldest partially preserved grandstand of Stamford Bridge is the East Stand, completed in 1974 and the first three-tier grandstand in Great Britain. Modernization work on the home of the "Blues" was not continued until 20 years later. The new two-tier North Stand was completed in 1994, and the opposite south stand, where the standing room of the legendary “Shed End” once was, was inaugurated in 1996 after a year of construction. The last of the four grandstands was the 13,432-seat West Stand with VIP facilities that opened in August 2001. As one of the very first football stadiums, Stamford Bridge was given a shell structure with residential buildings, hotels and offices - behind the “Chelsea Village” in the south-east, the stadium can hardly be seen from the outside.

Further expansion seems out of the question, as the area is limited and is now built up to the edge. In addition, it would no longer be possible to meet official requirements with the available access routes. The field as such and the club name belong to the "Chelsea Pitch Owners", so the ownership rights are distributed among numerous small shareholders.

On May 23, 2013, the UEFA Women's Champions League final was played at Stamford Bridge.

future

From 2015 to 2018 there were concrete plans for the demolition and rebuilding of Stamford Bridge, despite the limited space on the stadium property. The necessary space is to be created by building over the route of the West London Line and the District Line in the vicinity of the stadium. At the beginning of March 2017, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, gave the green light for the new construction of the stadium. The approximately 140-year-old Stamford Bridge was to be replaced by a modern football stadium with 60,000 seats for 580 million euros. The arena designed by Herzog & de Meuron was supposed to open for the 2021/22 season.

After a nerve agent attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia on March 4, 2018, a change of heart apparently took place in the British government. Roman Abramovich had problems with the extension of his investor visa; that could be seen as a carriage back to the Kremlin. Abramovich (oligarch, Putin confidante and owner of Chelsea Football Club) withdrew his visa application shortly afterwards.

On May 31, 2018, Chelsea announced that the new construction plans had been put on hold for the time being. The reason for this is the "currently unfavorable investment climate".

capacities

The stadium has a capacity of 40,853 spectators. There are four almost completely covered seating stands available: the Matthew Harding Stand, the West Stand, the East Stand and the Shed End. The middle tier of the West and East stands are reserved for spectators who have booked a hospitality package for the match day. The lower tier of the East Stand is the family area of ​​Stamford Bridge. The away fans receive part of the shed end, depending on the number of tickets. Most season ticket holders are located in the Matthew Harding booth and the Shed End.

Visitor record and average attendance

The largest number of spectators saw the Stamford Bridge on October 12, 1935 at the game of the Football League First Division 1935/36 . The game against Arsenal was watched by 82,905 visitors. The record in modern times of the seated stadium is 42,328 when Newcastle United came to Stamford Bridge for a 2002/03 Premier League match on December 4, 2002.

  • 2014/15: 41,546 ( Premier League )
  • 2015/16: 41,500 (Premier League)
  • 2016/17: 41.508 (Premier League)

Transport links

The stadium is best reached by public transport, as there are very few parking spaces available in the stadium area. The District Line (green) London Underground stops at Fulham Broadway , which is accessible from all directions. With overground trains, the stadium is easily accessible from Imperial Wharf and West Brompton stations .

Trivia

Since October 1, 2006, an urn with Peter Osgood's ashes has been buried under the southern penalty spot towards the Shed End .

gallery

  • Stamford Bridge facade (2007)

  • Fans in the stadium

  • Stamford Bridge (2013)

  • Stadium interior (2014)

  • Statue of Peter Osgood in front of the stadium

Web links

Commons : Stamford Bridge  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b General Club Information , Chelsea FC website, accessed April 21, 2019
  2. ^ Women's CL final at Stamford Bridge . In: Sponsors Verlags GmbH (Hrsg.): Sponsors . Edition December 2012. Hamburg, p. 66 .
  3. ↑ Why is it called Stamford Bridge? , Explanation of the origin of the name on the Chelsea FC homepage, accessed on May 31, 2015.
  4. ↑ Women's Finals at Stamford Bridge , uefa.com
  5. ↑ Stamford Bridge Grounds planning application The demolition of the previous stadium was planned after the 2016/17 season and the inauguration of the new stadium for the 2020/21 season.
  6. ↑ Chelsea new ground Q&A: Everything you need to know about the plans for 60,000-seater stadium to be built by 2020
  7. ↑ spiegel.de March 6, 2017: FC Chelsea may build a new stadium
  8. ↑ stadiumdb.com: Plans for the new Stamford Bridge (English)
  9. ↑ spiegel.de October 16, 2018: The last days of Londongrad
  10. Jump up ↑ The new stadium at Stamford Bridge on ice. Kicker-Sportmagazin , May 31, 2018, accessed on May 31, 2018 .
  11. ↑ footballgroundguide.com: Record attendance and average attendance (English)