Chelsea Pitch Owners

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The East Stand. The cost of constructing this stand played a large part in the club's financial crisis.

Chelsea Pitch Owners plc a is a non-profit organisation that owns both the freehold of the Stamford Bridge stadium and the naming rights of the Chelsea Football Club.

[edit] History

Chelsea suffered serious financial troubles during the 1970s and 1980s following a large-scale attempt to renovate Stamford Bridge. The financial crisis and a subsequent change of ownership at the club culminated in the sale of the Stamford Bridge freehold to property developers. The move almost saw Chelsea lose the stadium.

The future of the stadium (and hence the club) was only secured in 1992, when the property developers were forced into bankruptcy, allowing the then-chairman Ken Bates to do a deal with their bankers and to regain control of the stadium for the football club. Following this, Chelsea Pitch Owners was created, and in 1997 it purchased the Stamford Bridge freehold, the turnstiles, the pitch and the Chelsea FC name with the aid of a loan from Chelsea Village plc, the parent company of the club. Should chelsea decide to move to another stadium in the future, they will not be able to use the name Chelsea Football Club.

The new entrance to the West Stand.

[edit] Organisation and ownership

In purchasing the freehold and the naming rights, the intention was to ensure that Stamford Bridge could never again be sold to property developers and that the Chelsea FC name could not be traded on outside of the stadium. The company is not listed on any Stock Exchange. Its purpose is to raise the £9.2million needed to pay off the loan and then lease the freehold back to the club, on the strictly-defined proviso that the ground may only be used for football purposes. Irrespective of how many shares are owned by an individual, voting rights are limited to 100 per shareholder to prevent any one person or organisation gaining control. Fans are encouraged to purchase shares in order to secure the club's future.