Chelsea make an offer to acquire a crucial £50m site next to Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have made an offer to acquire a crucial £50million site next to their ground.

Owner Todd Boehly made the offer for the 1.2 acre plot of land before an official cut-off date for bids passed earlier this month.

The site is seen as an important step towards the club making a £1billion revamp of Stamford Bridge. 

The plot of land belongs to Housing association Stoll, which provides 157 supported homes for armed services veterans.

Stoll placed the majority of its two-acre site up for sale in October.

It is unclear if there are rival bids for the land – a decision is expected to be announced in the New Year.

Chelsea are eager to snap up the land as their expansion plans are hampered by Stamford Bridge being tightly hemmed in by buildings and railway lines.

The bid comes days after Chelsea committed to a massive redevelopment of Stamford Bridge – ending fears the club will relocate to a new stadium.

Earlier this month, owner Todd Boehly committed to a significant revamp of Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have looked at ways to expand Stamford Bridge’s 40,341 capacity for many years

Boehly made promises to the stadium freeholder to expand the ground rather than move the club to a new location.

The shareholder group that owns the London club’s stadium freehold, Chelsea Pitch Owners, said: ‘The new owners have committed to redevelopment of the stadium.’

Stoll embarked on a five-month consultation with residents, before putting the land up for sale.

The association will spend the coming weeks weighing up the best option for their residents.

Chelsea’s relationship with the association sparked controversy in 2018 when Sportsmail revealed former owner Roman Abramovich made a secret payment to Stoll thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Previous owner Roman Abramovich had £1bn plans for a new stadium until they were shelved

The charity then kept nearly 30 of its flats empty instead of providing homes for vulnerable former soldiers, a move which it is believed would have smoothed Abramovich’s plans for a new stadium.

Stoll dropped its objections to the stadium, with fewer former troops living there to complain about the project.

Abramovich and Stoll eventually agreed a £50m sale for part of the site before the deal collapsed as the Russian’s plans for a £1billion stadium were shelved.

Boehly intends to upgrade and replace the Stamford Bridge stands one by one. That could also see the hotel at the Shed End bulldozed.

The American has hired architect Janet Marie Smith, who helped renovate Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, to make recommendations. The club are not expected to release designs before the season ends.