It ain’t easy to make the Bridge much bigger.
The MHU is restricted due access, and would need the railway elevated walkway for sure.
Ok, the hotel could be knocked down and a massive Shed end could be built. But it’s more than a hotel – there are apartments. And 3 restaurants. The apartments are probably mostly owned by Roman now, admittedly, but batesy still has a penthouse.
The East stand is as it is, and the West stand is also as it is. It’s been refurbished and not much can be done over there.
The West stand is a little smaller than it was originally planned but the flats behind complained and won over, so a smaller stand was designed. But it’s still big enough and, like the East stand, not much can be done with it.
The error was batesy’s obsession with having a ground that wasn’t just used once a fortnight. Hence the hotel. The hotel has never made a penny from day one. The other part of the hotel (court hotel) was made into apartments. And the ground sees far more than one game a fortnight, what with all the cup competitions etc. Even with a massive Shed end we could still have had a decent megastore and loads of offices & conference facilities. Instead we have a load of one-bed apartments, 3 penthouses and a white elephant hotel. That was the error.
We have a capacity of ~42k. Let us not forget that 3 or 4 of the PL games end up on general sale. I will speculate in that if we went 7 years with no trophy like arse have done we’d be seeing most of the games on general sale. Our more recent fans would disappear. That’s the fact we have to face. The prices of tkts have fkd off most of the real original fans, who have been keenly exchanged for newer corporate and hospitality fans, together with tourists, JCLs and wannabees by the likes of gourlay and his ‘brand’ obsession.
On a personal note, if we’d got battersea, or do take earls court, then I’ll probably turn up for the first game to clock it all then call it a day. We were speaking about this in the Allianz. Would you really want to turn up to a stadium like that every week? I wouldn’t. No character, for a start. Nah, it’s not for me. I’m happy to listen to other opinions on this. E.g.- my brother was disappointed the Malaysians got Battersea, but I wasn’t. Well, initially I was a little negative on the administrator’s decision, but then I thought of what I have been saying all this time and then what we said in munich. I grew up at the Bridge. I don’t want a fkk off stadium that’s all purpose built in a bowl shape with big concourses and with caterers like that have at arse or wembley. I am not averse to change, but some big purpose built bowl-type stadium is not me, and I think it is not Chelsea.
Just my opinion.