Stamford Bridge: Four questions Chelsea must answer about new 60,000-seat stadium

Chelsea's redevelopment plans for Stamford Bridge (Getty Images)

Chelsea have released their full plans of what there new Stamford Bridge home will look like if it gets planning permission.

The proposed 60,000-seat stadium will cost around £600million and take around three years to complete and if the Blues are aprroved planning permission from Hammersmith and Fulham council, will be ready to play in their impressive new home from the beginning of the 2020-2021 season.

But with that kind of investment and upheavel, there are still a few questions that remain unanswered, despite the club giving a detailed update on their plans.

Will the atmosphere improve?

Stamford Bridge has grown quiet in recent years and it's largely the fault of the club, rather than the fans. Rising ticket prices have forced some away and in there place have come the half-and-half scarf wearing tourist, watching the game as part of their trip to London. Those fans spend money and are here to stay, but they do little to improve the atmosphere in the ground. The other is the over-zealous stewarding inside Stamford Bridge. Certain songs are no longer allowed, others have been censored beyond repair and there is a, largely, zero tolerance approach to persistent standing and swearing. Modern football has become a sanitised experience, mostly for the best, but Chelsea's atmosphere is one of the those to have suffered most.

In there new plans Chelsea are at pains to state they will have an 'arena designed to create an exciting atmosphere', although it is not quite clear how they will go about it. An area similar to the Homesdale End at Selhurst Park, where fans are actively encouraged to make noise would be a welcome addition. There is certainly an appetite for making noise as the travelling support has often shown. Chelsea have also promised to allow season ticket holders to keep the same seats they hold now.

The new stadium will see the amount of hospitality seats double, from 4,600 to 8,900, although it is unclear where they will sit. Hopefully they are again in the middle tier of the West Stand and out of view of the cameras rather than taking up prominent position at the half-way line, like at Wembley Stadium where hundreds of empty seats can be seen when a game kicks-off and for the start of the second half.

Who will foot the bill?

Roman Abramovich is said to be paying for the whole thing, all £600m of it. Is he going to want that money back eventually, or is it a gift? For years Arsenal were unable to compete for trophies as they couldn't buy players because they were being forced to pay off the Emirates Stadium. With those payments now stopped the Gunners are back among the Premier League elite, pushing for the title, and have won the FA Cup in each of the last two seasons. The top season ticket prices at Arsenal is the most expensive in Europe, despite the move to the new stadium adding 22,000 seats.

These are all issues Chelsea fans will be desperate to avoid - paying a higher price for an inferior product in a shiny new home. There is so far no suggestion that Abramovich will ask for the money back.

Will the club lower ticket prices?

Chelsea are way behind rivals Arsenal in matchday revenue - in 2014 the Gunners made £100m from their home games while the Blues made £70m. Add an extra 18,000 seats, and double the amount of big spending hospitality clients, and Chelsea will see a big boost to their gameday coffers.

Will that boost be enough to allow the club to cut prices, even by a small amount. Chelsea have frozen prices in recent years but still have the third most expensive season tickets and their 'cheapest' matchday ticket is £10 more expensive than any other club in the Premier League.

A reduction in prices to certain tickets will hit revenue but garner a bit of good will among fans.

Where do Chelsea go in the meantime?

Twickenham and Wembley Stadium are the two choices for the club, but both are fraught with difficulties. Tottenham are also interested in the national stadium, and it's going to be hard to convince Brent council to host a Premier League game every weekend for three years, even if the FA would love the boost to their coffers.

Twickenham may be geographically closer to Stamford Bridge, but it's an absolute nightmare to travel to and from - just ask the England fans who weren't getting home from Rugby World Cup matches until the very early hours.