Chelsea's Plan for New Stadium at Stamford Bridge Approved by Mayor of London

Chelsea have taken a major leap forward in their plans to renovate Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seat venue after the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, approved the club's plans for a new stadium.

Martyn Ziegler of The Times posted a press release confirming Khan has green-lit the £500 million project, which would include an injection of £15.75 million across community activities and affordable housing in the area:

Premier League leaders Chelsea have been based at Stamford Bridge since the club was founded in 1905, adopting the ground as their home venue after it was opened in 1877.

Matt Lewis of Yahoo also confirmed Monday's news of Khan's approval and provided images of the planned development, which will see Stamford Bridge transformed into a state-of-the-art venue:

The Sun's Tom Sheen detailed the Blues' proposal for the renovation had previously been held up due to the fact Chelsea Pitch Owners officially owned the playing surface, but that conflict has since been resolved.

The non-profit organisation has since agreed to sell Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich the freehold lease for an extended 999-year deal, with the Russian having previously failed to purchase the former 199-year proposal.

The announcement comes at a time of great promise for the west Londoners, who lead the Premier League by seven points with a game in hand and could start the build as domestic champions.

A new stadium development will, in theory, boost Chelsea's already impressive revenue and in some ways validate the team as a powerhouse of the sport, as Goal's Nizaar Kinsella recently touched upon:

As things stand, Chelsea play in only the seventh-largest stadium in the Premier League, sitting behind even Sunderland's Stadium of Light (49,000 capacity) and West Ham United's new Olympic Stadium (57,000 capacity).

Chelsea's proposed expansion will put them on a par with England's biggest guns and put them behind only Manchester United's 76,000-seat Old Trafford, although Arsenal's Emirates Stadium also holds around 60,000.