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Chelsea: Stamford Bridge expansion unlikely

"It is clear to the board a complete new build of a 60,000-seat stadium has little chance of acceptability," the 2010 Premier League champions said on their website.

"We believe that, after discussions with the local council, they have [also] come to the same conclusion.

"A 60,000 new-build would cost over 600 million pounds and require the club to play away from home for at least three seasons and, even if the economics were acceptable, the planning risks would likely be insurmountable."

The ground's existing capacity is 42,000 and Chelsea said on Friday that an increase to 55,000 would also be difficult.

"The cost per seat of expanding the stands [to a 55,000 capacity] is very high," the club said.

"The incremental revenues provide an unsatisfactory level of return, would not even cover the hypothetical financing costs, and the planning risks are significant. We believe the council recognises these challenges.

"The club [however] are not in any way stating we have made a decision on the need to move."