London’s Mecca Of Football
By Naveen Marasinghe
If you are a Chelsea fan then you would say that it is the world’s greatest team however you were not, then you would say that it is a team that buys the world’s greatest footballers and in essence is not really an English Club. What ever your club allegiances maybe one fact remains undisputed that is, Chelsea FC is London’s oldest and best known club.
Unlike most other clubs that modernize and expand their home stadium or move away to bigger and better grounds, Chelsea has only ever had one ground; the name of it is one that is known by all Londoners: Stamford Bridge. When Stamford Bridge was first opened in 1877 it was exclusively used by the London Athletics Club for athletics training and for hosting regional meets and was not at all a ground.
However following the acquisition of the property by the Mears family in 1904, notable architect Archibald Leitch designed a stadium which was at the time known as being the best among its peers. The completed ground was first offered to Fulham FC but the side turned it down, and the Mears family then decided to form their own team, though located in Fulham, they decided to take on the name Chelsea from the adjacent district for their club.
When the stadium was initially constructed it had a seating capacity of 10,000, in the 1930’s an expansion plan saw a roof and capacity being increased to 50,000.The new stand was known as the shed and became the home of Chelsea’s most vocal and loyal supporters. Later
in the 1970’s an ambitious modernization project saw the club go through financial difficulty which was only resolved in 1990.
An important enclosure for fans to check out when they visit Stamford Bridge is the club’s museum that holds many of the important trophies and other memorabilia associated with Chelsea FC. If you drop in on a match night don’t forget to check into a London England hotel for a comfortable night’s accommodation.
