Chelsea Football Club and Stamford Bridge:
Gus Mears, a football fan and businessman, purchased the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground in 1896, along with his brother Joseph. Having failed to persuade Fulham Football Club to adopt the ground as its home, Mears took a friend’s advice and founded his own club, Chelsea Football Club, to play at Stamford Bridge.
He founded the club in 1905, adopting blue as the shirt colour to pay homage to Lord Chelsea’s racing colours.
Today, Stamford Bridge is an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 41,623. Chelsea Football Club failed to secure the site of Battersea Power Station, where the club’s officials had hoped to build a new 60,000 seater stadium.
Away fans are housed in the south-east section of the Shed End, separated into the upper and lower tiers. With no obstructions, views are decent in any part of the away section.
How to get there:
By car:
A journey by car to Stamford Bridge from Birmingham will take just over two hours, depending on traffic.
For directions, click here.
Use postcode SW6 1HS for sat navs.
As you would expect, parking restrictions are in force around the ground and safe parking is limited. Approximately a mile from the ground, in Waltham Green, where the residents only section ends, you will find some on-street parking if you arrive early enough.
By train:
Regular train services to London run from both Snow Hill and New Street Stations, taking from one hour and twenty-two minutes to two hours and fifteen minutes.
Those arriving into Marylebone should walk to Edgware Road, exiting the station and continuing along for three hundred and fifty-five metres before taking a slight right on to Chapel Street. Continue along Chapel Street for one hundred and ten metres then turn on to Transept Street, where the station is located. A District Line train from Edgware Road towards Wimbledon will take you to Fulham Broadway in fifteen minutes.
If you arrive into Euston, you should take the Victoria Line to Victoria then change to the District Line.
Where to drink:
This season, none of the pubs in the vicinity of the ground will admit away fans.
Fans are therefore advised to drink in the Earl’s Court area pre-match. Many away fans use The Courtfield Tavern, which is almost directly across the road from Earl’s Court Station.
A number of establishments on Earl’s Court Road will welcome away fans.
If you have time to spare, you could try The Falcon at 2 St. Johns Hill, SW11 1RU near Clapham Junction, which boasts the longest bar in the UK, or The Star and Garter at 4 Lower Richmond Road, Putney, SW15 1JN.
