Football stadiums that never were including stunning Liverpool and Chelsea concept designs

Though Europe boasts immoderate of the astir breathtaking and historical shot grounds successful the world, these stunning designs unluckily ne'er made the cut.

Grand stadiums person ever blessed European football, whether it beryllium the Theatre of Dreams Old Trafford, the Bernabeu, Camp Nou, oregon San Siro. And, successful caller years, modern brilliance has besides prevailed.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium present stands as the benchmark for caller grounds successful England, boasting implicit 60,000 seats, a retractable NFL field, and a microbrewery. However, determination person been galore projects that shared a akin magnificence, but, sadly, were not to be.

Mirror Football explores the European grounds, including a bizarre UFO design, that promised to beryllium special, but unfortunately, ne'er saw their shot get rolling.

Chelsea

With the two-time Champions League winners’ crushed holding conscionable implicit 40,000 spectators, expanding Stamford Bridge has been connected Chelsea’s docket for immoderate clip - and remains connected it.

In 2012, erstwhile proprietor Roman Abramovich acted, submitting an connection to bargain the then-derelict Battersea Power Station, situated connected the southbound slope of the River Thames.

Alas, the Grade II listed tract wouldn't autumn into the hands of the Blues, with Abramovich and Co outbid, and the stunning drawings that incorporated the building’s 4 iconic chimneys were near to beryllium pondered arsenic a dream.

However, a caller Stamford Bridge design, drawn up by Swiss architecture steadfast Herzog and de Meuron, would travel 3 years aft their failed bid. Yet, now, with Abramovich successful the club’s rearview mirror, plans person been connected and off, though they stay successful the pipeline, with a expected enactment being an Earls Court relocation.

Liverpool

Another nine aiming to adjacent the spread connected their rivals with larger grounds, Liverpool revealed plans successful 2007 to physique a marque caller 60,000-seater stadium successful the adjacent Stanley Park.

Then-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were keen connected the idea, but Liverpool City Council were not and the program was aboriginal scrapped.

However, this hasn't stopped the Reds from hitting the 60,000-seater people astatine Anfield, arsenic their existent stadium’s Anfield Road basal was expanded past play - adding 7,000 other seats.

Everton

Much similar their metropolis rivals, Everton besides enactment guardant plans for a caller stadium successful the mid-to-late noughties: a 50,000-seater gem situated connected Kings Dock.

Yet, the similarities betwixt the Toffees and Reds continue, arsenic said £150million program - the club’s 3rd effort to relocate - was rejected by the government.

However, the rebuttals stopped successful 2020 erstwhile Liverpool City Council approved Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock plan. In 2021, crushed was broken, and this existent play volition beryllium the club's past play astatine Goodison Park arsenic they determination into their caller 52,888-seater location for the 2025/26 campaign.

Another outrageous program that was erstwhile proposed, and has yet been avoided, was an adjoined stadium for some Everton and Liverpool, situated successful Stanley Park. This ‘Siamese stadium’ program was enactment guardant by a consortium backmost successful 2010, and possibly thankfully for some sets of fans, ne'er got going.

Portsmouth

Herzog and de Meuron, who aided Chelsea’s archetypal designs, besides enactment guardant plans for Portsmouth's 36,000 Portsea crushed successful 2007. The models projected a stunning waterside ground, but world would beryllium overmuch little forgiving.

A £600million task that didn't conscionable impact the stadium was rebuked, and adjacent erstwhile relocating to different country astatine Hornsea Island, owed to the backdrop of the planetary fiscal situation of 2008, Fratton Park would stay their home.

“The stadium connected the docks was a fantastic design, truly stunning,” erstwhile Portsmouth CEO Peter Storrie told The Athletic. “It would’ve been perfect.

“It was determination connected the waterfront. They enactment it up connected the surface for america and it surely had the wow factor. It would’ve been an iconic venue. One of the large stadiums if it had been built.“

Dinamo Zagreb

This volcano-shaped monstrosity ne'er near Photoshop, and fans are apt gladsome that this ground, dubbed the Blue Volcano by the press, stays buried. The ‘cloud-covered’ eco-friendly stadium would person had a capableness of 55,000.

Barcelona

La Blaugrana began the enlargement and modernisation of their iconic Camp Nou aft the 2022/23 La Liga season. While it is expected to beryllium implicit by June 2026, boasting a full capableness of 105,000 and a caller retractable roof, determination was erstwhile a program to relocate retired astatine sea.

Linked by a bridge, a 150,000-seater mega-stadium was projected earlier the nine came to their eventual renovation - a task that would've taken the barroom arsenic the astir ambitious but singular connected the continent.

Bristol City

In 2007, the aforesaid twelvemonth that Portsmouth attempted to get their caller task up-and-running, Bristol City announced their connection to regenerate Aston Gate with a 42,000-seater - to beryllium constructed connected an country of onshore successful Ashton Vale.

Yet, their crushed was besides not to be. An exertion made by section residents recommended the country beryllium registered arsenic a municipality green, meaning that its aboriginal usage was restricted, and it was incapable to beryllium developed.

The nine truthful decided to scrap their plans, but went guardant with a renovation of Ashton Gate successful 2016. This accrued the stadium’s capableness from 16,600 to 27,000.

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