Club Proposal
On 3 October 2011, Chelsea Football Club made a proposal to buy back the freehold land (owned by CPO) on which the football stadium at Stamford Bridge sits, which would pave the way for a move to a new ground. Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck, said: "Chelsea should always be grateful to those who invested in CPO. We know only too well how close the club came to losing our home prior to the formation of CPO, but that threat has now gone under Mr Abramovich's ownership and with the CPO structure in place we cannot plan with certainty for the future. I hope all shareholders vote in favour of the proposal."
Chelsea Chief Executive Ron Gourlay said: "I am sure all Chelsea fans have enjoyed the football and success we have witnessed at Stamford Bridge since 2003 and Chelsea Football Club and Mr Abramovich are determined to ensure that the club continues to compete at the highest level of world football." He added: "We continue to look at options for expanding the Bridge and I should be clear that we have not identified a site for a new stadium elsewhere."
The proposal was brought in a general CPO meeting on 27 October 2011 but failed to pass as only 61.6% of the total votes were cast in favour of the proposal, below the 75% minimum requirement.
In May 2012, Chelsea Football Club confirmed that they had lodged a bid to buy the site of Battersea Power Station, with the possibility of the club relocating to a 60,000-seater capacity stadium. Chairman Bruce Buck did concede that there were "a number of hurdles to jump," including "winning the support of our fans, the CPO shareholders and local Wandsworth residents, as well as securing the approval of Wandsworth Council, the Greater London Authority and heritage authorities."
Read more about this topic: Chelsea Pitch Owners
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