May 31, 2018
Roman Abramovich has put a £1bn scheme to redevelop Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium on hold in response to suffering delays in the renewal of his visa to enter the United Kingdom.
Roman Abramovich shelves £1bn Chelsea stadium after visa delays
The club confirmed that plans to transform their home of 113 years into a 60,000-seat arena had been mothballed. A 49-word statement published on their website on Thursday pointed to the “current unfavourable investment climate” as a key factor in their reasoning, yet the Home Office’s delay in renewing Abramovich’s visa, which had expired, is understood to have prompted the owner’s decision to shelve the scheme.
Abramovich is apparently reluctant to invest heavily in a major project in the capital of a country where he has been denied a visa. The oligarch, who has been a regular visitor to Britain since buying Chelsea in 2003 but does not hold an employment position at the club, was unable to attend his team’s victory in the FA Cup final at Wembley this month with the process unresolved, and has since secured Israeli citizenship.
An Israeli government spokesperson confirmed this week that the 51-year-old was to move to Tel Aviv. Although he would be able to visit the UK visa-free for up to six months at a time on his Israeli passport, Downing Street has confirmed he would not be permitted to work in this country.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday that the billionaire had withdrawn his request for a British investor visa, quoting a source close to Abramovich as saying: “He understands and respects that the UK are reviewing their processes and has therefore chosen to withdraw until a new process is in place.” Once a new policy was in place, the source added, Abramovich would “want to clarify any misunderstanding and speculations. He has spent many years in the UK and is a legitimate businessman, nothing has changed.”
The issue has flared at a time of heightened tensions between Britain and Russia since the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. Britain has blamed that act on Russia, though the Kremlin denies involvement. Abramovich’s previous tier one visa, which allows anyone who invests more than £2m in the British economy to stay for 40 months, had been granted before tighter regulations were introduced in April 2015. The government has since launched a further crackdown on wealthy investors coming to the UK and, it is believed, would have required some financial disclosures if Abramovich’s UK visa were to be renewed.
Roman Abramovich shelves £1bn Chelsea stadium after visa delays
Chelsea, who finished outside the lucrative Champions League qualification places last season, insist Abramovich remains as committed to the club as ever, and will continue to invest funds for transfers. However, the desire to redevelop Stamford Bridge had been motivated primarily by the prospect of increased match-day revenues, which would allow the Premier League side to be more competitive in the transfer market while complying with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
The ground’s 41,631 capacity leaves them in the smallest stadium of the current top six given Tottenham Hotspur will return to a redeveloped White Hart Lane next season. In that regard, the decision to put plans on hold would appear to damage the club’s long-term ability to compete financially with the Premier League’s elite.
Chelsea had previously explored purchasing the Battersea Power station site and land around Earl’s Court, before opting to transform Stamford Bridge into what the architects, Herzog and de Meuron, described as a “cathedral of football”. Planning approval was received from Hammersmith and Fulham council last year, with the mayor of London Sadiq Khan also giving the green light, and Chelsea had hoped to move to Wembley for up to four years while work was carried out.
Costs for the ambitious scheme had escalated wildly, doubling to around £1bn largely because of the time allocated to the build and its complexity. Chelsea had started the process of sounding out banks and blue-chip companies over commercial deals and to seek a potential naming-rights partner, though they would have leant heavily upon Abramovich to fund the project.
“Chelsea has put its new stadium project on hold,” the club said. “No further pre-construction design and planning work will occur. The club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decision. The decision was made due to the current unfavourable investment climate.”
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.