Chelsea could not remain Chelsea without its most loyal fans and without Stamford Bridge. It is not a sentimental question. Not the whole club is (or was) owned by Roman Abramovich. The property of the stadium and the rights to the name of the club belong to Chelsea Pitch Owners, a company in which more than 13,000 fans are grouped who are in charge of safeguarding that Chelsea is still Chelsea. They guarantee the undissociated survival of two of the most important elements of its identity: the name Chelsea FC and the stadium where for years the dreams of the fans have been built blue.
The idea of separating these two elements from the club’s asset structure dates back to another crisis three decades ago. In the late 1980s Stamford Bridge was able to share the fate of other European stadiums and be demolished to make way for residential buildings. The fall in the real estate market put a stop to those plans. A victory for the fans. That triumph is due to Ken Bates. After acquiring the club in 1982, the businessman (who years later transferred the club to Abramovich) fought to prevent the sale of the stadium’s land, which was partially owned by a real estate company. After its bankruptcy, he orchestrated an operation so that all the property of the field was left in the hands of the fans. This is how the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) was born in 1993. The club sold the stadium to this company, while giving it a loan to finance that acquisition. The credit, of which about eight million pounds (nine and a half million euros at the exchange rate) remain to be amortized, must be returned until the year 2196 through a part of the amount they collect from the sale of shares and the club manages the operation in its entirety of the stadium.
“The structure of the organization is such that no one person can excessively influence the future of the club”, describe AS sources of CPO. Currently, 13,000 shareholders around the world share ownership of 23,000 shares. And they live a moment of growth. “We have had hundreds of requests for actions since the Roman Abramovich sanctions were announced,” they say. Buying a share costs 110 pounds (about 131 euros at the exchange rate).
Owners of the stadium and the name Chelsea FC
Chelsea Pitch Owners’ rights to club essentials are not just limited to the stadium. They are also the owners of the Chelsea FC name. “If the club decided to take the team [lejos de Stamford Bridge]they should give us the name or ask us for permission to transfer”, they explain from CPO. That permission requires a large majority. In 2011, the club, already with Abramovich at the helm, tried to buy back the stadium. 61.5% of the shareholders voted in favor of the operation, but the 75% required for the proposal to go ahead was not reached.
Panoramic view of the interior of Stamford Bridge.
AFP7 via Europa Press
A committee of six directors, all volunteers and professionals from different areas, manages CPO. They remain neutral in the process of selling the club, although they hold talks with the candidates who aspire to take control of the entity in order to make them aware of the position of CPO. Relations with the club have been good so far. “We can organize events at Stamford Bridge and our website is hosted on the club’s website,” they say.
In the complicated situation that the club is now going through, immersed in a new process of changing ownership, Chelsea fans have the last word if the new owner intends to take the team away from Stamford Bridge. “All Chelsea fans have Ken to thank for this”remark from Chelsea Pitch Owners.