Chelsea offer £11m a year to use Wembley for three years while Stamford Bridge is rebuilt from 2017... and that's £3m more than Tottenham's bid to use stadium

• Chelsea have offered £11m a year to use Wembley while their Stamford Bridge home is redeveloped between 2017 and 2020
• Bid is £3m more than that offered by Tottenham to use national stadium
• Spurs also need temporary home in coming years as new ground is built
• Neither club could use Wembley to its full 90,000 capacity
• Attendance would have to be capped at 50,000 because of restrictions
• Chelsea unveiled plans for their new 60,000-seater home last week 

By Adam Shergold

Published: 01:55 EST, 7 July 2015 | Updated: 09:17 EST, 7 July 2015

Chelsea have offered £11million a year to use Wembley Stadium as a temporary home while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped - stealing a march on London rivals Tottenham.

Spurs, who will need a venue for one year from 2017 while their new place is built, are believed to have offered £8m a year to use the national stadium.

But, according to The Times, Chelsea have outbid them in an effort to secure use of Wembley for three seasons, most likely from the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign.

Chelsea take on Tottenham in last season's Capital One Cup final at Wembley - both clubs wish to use the national stadium as a temporary venue while their grounds are rebuilt in a few years' time

Wembley Stadium could be used for Chelsea games with a restriction on capacity to 50,000

Neither Premier League team would be able to use Wembley to its full 90,000 capacity because of restrictions on the number of events that can be held at the iconic north London stadium each year.

But, as revealed last month by Sportsmail, these restrictions can be circumvented if the attendance is no higher than 50,000 - equivalent to keeping Wembley's top tier closed off.

The Wembley board is under pressure from the Premier League to allow either Chelsea or Tottenham use of the stadium but they must consider the knock-on effect on other sporting and music events and the revenue they generate.

Chelsea revealed architects' impressions of a new 60,000-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium last week with the design inspired by the buttresses, pillars and gothic architecture of Westminster Abbey.

Owner Roman Abramovich wants their new home, which will cost in excess of £500m to realise, to be a cathedral of football and close attention has been paid to making the designs as true to Chelsea's heritage as possible.

Chelsea revealed plans for their new 60,000-capacity stadium at Stamford Bridge last week

The design for the new stadium has been inspired by the architecture of Westminster Abbey

Chelsea's Stamford Bridge home as it looks now. The redevelopment work would commence in 2017

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is driving through the plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge

A three-day consultation was held at Stamford Bridge last week so the public could view the plans.

Chelsea approached the Rugby Football Union last summer with a view to using Twickenham, the 82,000-capacity home of the England rugby team, as a temporary home.

But a number of obstacles were put in their path, including obtaining planning permission for an increase in events, objections from local residents and issues about segregation between fans.

Wembley would be a much better alternative for Chelsea despite it being located outside of their traditional heartland.

Tottenham intend to build a new stadium of up to 61,000 capacity within the new few years

Spurs had also been interested in using Wembley as a temporary venue but have been outbid by Chelsea

Their superior offer leaves Spurs still in need of an alternative venue when they leave White Hart Lane and work begins on a new arena adjacent to it.

The club were given permission for a 56,000-seater stadium back in 2012 but are now expected to submit a new planning application for a 61,000-capacity venue capable of holding American football matches.

Sharing the Olympic Stadium with West Ham for two years or even moving into their soon-to-be-vacated home at Upton Park have been ruled out, with a ground share with Milton Keynes Dons the most likely option.

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