MODERN day football calls for impressive stadia.
In the past couple of decades, we’ve seen Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham move into new homes – fit for Premier League status.
These proposed football stadiums, like this Portsmouth effort, never got off the ground
However, rivals like Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton have all failed when it has come to plans to build a fancy new stadium.
Here’s a round-up of what could’ve been, including Barcelona’s 150,000-capacity island stadium.
CHELSEA
In 2012, the West London giants launched an ambitious plan to buy Battersea Power Station.
The Blues wanted to turn the site into a 60,000 all-seater stadium, keeping the landmark’s famous four chimneys as part of the design.
Their plan involved building one stand in the existing structure and then creating a new stadium around it.
However, Chelsea lost the bid to two Malaysian companies – SP Setia and Sime Darby and they were back to square one.
Roman Abramovich’s side are currently looking at redeveloping Stamford Bridge, although they face a March 31 deadline in submitting their proposed plans.
The new Chelsea home incorporated the famous Battersea Power Station chimneys in its designCredit: Chelsea FC
Stamford Bridge looked a lot different in 1922Credit: Getty Images – Getty
In 1972 an architect created a model of a proposed redevelopment of Stamford Bridge that never happenedCredit: PA:Press Association
Roger Bannister, Chelsea chairman Brian Mears, Chelsea manager Dave Sexton and architect John Darbourne examine redevelopment plansCredit: PA:Press Association
Chelsea’s current plan is to build this 60,000-seater stadiumCredit: PA:Press Association
LIVERPOOL
In 2007, the Reds proposed a 60,000 all-seater stadium in nearby Stanley Park – an upgrade on their Anfield home.
The club’s previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were enthused by the idea.
But after a meeting with US architects HKS and Liverpool City Council, the plans were shelved for good.
Currently, Liverpool are planning on expanding Anfield to a capacity of 61,000 by building a new 16,000-seater stand.
The Reds proposed a 60,000 all-seater stadium in nearby Stanley ParkCredit: Alamy
The plans were shelved after a meeting with Liverpool City CouncilCredit: Alamy
PORTSMOUTH
When Pompey were still a Premier League club, they had aspirations to grow.
With that came this stadium concept masterminded by Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron, who were responsible for the design of Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena and the Beijing National stadium.
The 36,000-seater stadium was set to be at Portsea, next to the naval bases and Gunwharf Quays’ Spinnaker tower.
However, the financial crisis of 2008 meant the £600MILLION plans were shelved.
Swiss architecture firm Herzog and de Meuron came up with this concept for Portsmouth
The £600m was deemed too expensive in 2008
BARCELONA
The Camp Nou is one of the most famous stadiums in world football.
But, believe it or not, Barcelona have been considering moving out and into somewhere even bigger and more impressive for some time.
One idea they had was to build a stadium off the bay of the city, and linked by a bridge.
The plans, however, do seem a little far-fetched.
Barcelona considered moving from the Camp Nou to thisCredit: Barcelona FC
Barcelona’s new proposed stadium would have had a 150,000 capacityCredit: Barcelona FC
It was situated off the bay of the cityCredit: Barcelona FC
TOTTENHAM
Before Spurs left White Hart Lane and headed to the nearby Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Daniel Levy had other ideas for the North London giants.
He looked at the possibility of moving to the Olympic Stadium, which West Ham have since made their home.
They even mocked up an image of what a match day might’ve looked like.
Before they moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs looked at the Olympic StadiumCredit: Tottenham Hotspur FC
A game day for Spurs could have looked like thisCredit: Tottenham Hotspur FC
Instead, West Ham moved in to the Olympic StadiumCredit: Tottenham Hotspur FC
LIVERPOOL AND EVERTON
The ‘Siamese’ stadium joining arenas for both Liverpool and Everton was put forward by a Merseyside consortium back in 2010.
They would’ve shared a central spine, which was said to save millions in production costs.
Unsurprisingly this was a no-go though. Just imagine how a derby day would’ve gone down?
The ‘Siamese’ stadium would’ve seen rivals Liverpool and Everton ground-sharing
BRISTOL CITY
Back in 2007, Bristol City had a bold plan to build a new stadium in Ashton Vale.
Bear in mind, they’d been at their home Ashton Gate since 1887.
However, an application by local residents encouraged an independent planner to suggest the area should be a town green instead, and any future development was shelved.
The Robins were forced to cancel the 42,000-seater project before it had even started.
Bristol City boldly wanted to move to a 42,000 seater stadium
LAZIO
In the 2000s, after growing tired of sharing the Stadio Olimpico with fierce rivals Roma, Lazio thought about branching out on their own.
The proposed Stadio delle Aquile would house 40,000 fans, and boast a transparent roof with solar panels.
The financial crisis, though, put pay to that idea and Lazio had to stay put.
Lazio’s stadium proposal had a glass roof with solar panelsCredit: Lazio FC
DINAMO ZAGREB
The Croatian giants must’ve thought they were on fire with this idea.
Not so long ago, Dinamo Zagreb mocked up plans to build a stadium that looked like a volcano.
Oddly, it also had a hovering cloud-like thing suspended above the pitch.
While it didn’t happen, ultimately it would’ve been cool if it did.
There was something erupting at Dinamo ZagrebCredit: Dynamo Zagreb
Plans were mad but never completed for a volcano-shaped stadiumCredit: Dynamo Zagreb
AEK ATHENS
Greek side AEK were ousted from their home in the early 2000s, and it was bulldozed in 2003.
But great ideas can come out of despair, and this was one.
A 40,000 fancy new arena would’ve provided AEK Athens with a home that would’ve built up a frightening cauldron of sound on European nights.
But the financial crisis happened and the stadium did not.
AEK Athens were looking for a new home when their old one was bulldozedCredit: AEK Athens
This proposed 40,000 arena would’ve proved to be an intimidating place to goCredit: AEK Athens
EVERTON
Goodison Park can be an intimidating place to go for away teams.
But that didn’t deter Everton from planning on moving to a site in Kirby and building a 50,000-seater stadium.
Everton tried to create a partnership with supermarket chain Tesco, with previous CEO Sir Terry Leahy said to be a fan of the club.
However, the £150MILLION plan failed after it was rejected by the government.
Still, Everton will be moving to a brand new £500MILLION stadium for the 2023-24 season in the Liverpool docklands area.
Everton looked at moving to KirbyCredit: PA:Press Association
The plans were shelved when the government rejected Everton’s proposalCredit: PA:Press Association
Prem plan to play all 92 remaining games behind closed doors at neutral grounds on live TV amid coronavirus outbreak
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
