Chelsea
have had talks with England's rugby chiefs about moving to the Twickenham
stadium for a season while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped.
The Rugby Football Union have confirmed they have already held initial talks
with Chelsea but stressed they are at a very early stage.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, the RFU said: "We are regularly contacted by a
variety of organisations, within and outside sport, on a wide range of
opportunities concerning the use of what we believe is a world-class
stadium.
"We have had an inquiry from Chelsea FC but have not had any discussions of
any substance.
"We have had an inquiry from Chelsea FC but have not had any discussions of
any substance."
RFU
"While we don't comment on any specific confidential conversations, each
request is taken on its merit, assessing a variety of factors, such as the
effect on the pitch, availability, transport and local considerations and
other important implications."
Chelsea seem to have abandoned their long-held dream of building a new
stadium on a new site in London in favour of redeveloping their Stamford
Bridge complex.
Development
Earlier this year Roman Abramovich's club announced plans to redevelop the
Bridge and a study commissioned by the Russian billionaire is looking at
ways to bump its capacity up from 41,623 to 60,000.
That capacity would help them meet UEFA's financial fairplay regulations.
The club is looking at different options, including acquiring land
neighbouring the existing Stamford Bridge stadium.
A Chelsea spokesman told the Sunday Times: "We're investigating different
scenarios as part of the consultation process we started earlier this year,
but have had no discussions of substance so far."
The 82,000-seat Twickenham stadium, home to England's rugby union team, has
never hosted football matches but rugby league has been played there, as
have rock concerts.
If Chelsea were to play there for a season, it could not be before 2016-17
because Twickenham, in south-west London, will be hosting the Rugby World
Cup in September and October next year.
The Football Association at one point had hoped to include Twickenham in its
bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup but the RFU opted not to get
involved.
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