Rugby Football Union boss Bill Sweeney would be open to hosting Chelsea matches at Twickenham whilst the Blues have Stamford Bridge redeveloped. Sweeney is desperate to get more cash out of the 82,000-seater venue and Chelsea, who plan to upgrade their ground to a 60,000 capacity, fit the bill.
Tottenham played at Wembley between 2017 and 2019 whilst their new ground was being built and Sweeney recognises Chelsea games would give the RFU a huge bank balance boost. Sweeney said: “It would be a big financial number. The licence would allow it to happen and there have been conversations previously about possible Premier League clubs coming here.
“Richmond council is more concerned in terms of impact on local residents, numbers of fans and so on they’re a little bit more sensitive. It may depend on which club it is.”
Sweeney recently threatened to shift England’s base from Twickenham to the Midlands , with Milton Keynes an option, because of a ruck over Beyonce concerts.
The star is playing six gigs at Spurs this summer because Twickenham is restricted to hosting just three non-sports events a year. But Sweeney is confident that limit will be scrapped.
He added: “We’re making really progress with Richmond. The conversations with them have been positive, it’s a cooperative process.
“They see the value that we bring to the area and they understand why we need to have more non-rugby events when you compare it to Tottenham, to Wembley, the O2, they can see why we need those non-rugby events to make the thing viable.”