RFU opens door to hosting Chelsea if they need temporary home

The Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, has said Twickenham could host Chelsea matches if the Premier League club is seeking a temporary home – but he believes the local council would attempt to stand in the way.

Sweeney acknowledged the financial carrot of hosting an elite football team on a short-term basis and revealed discussions had previously taken place. Chelsea have long since been looking to either upgrade Stamford Bridge or relocate elsewhere in London and in 2017 it was said that moving temporarily to Twickenham was an option being considered.

Ultimately Chelsea stayed put and are still exploring their options with either a move to Earl’s Court or the redevelopment of their current home being considered. Should the RFU host Chelsea at Twickenham, it would be a lucrative move for the union, which last November announced record losses and is struggling to break even.

Asked if the RFU’s licence would allow for Twickenham to stage Chelsea fixtures, Sweeney said: “It would allow it to happen. There have been conversations previously about possible Premiership [sic] clubs coming here. Richmond council, Richmond borough is more concerned about that. I just think 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. It would be a big financial number, I know Richmond borough would definitely have a conversation about that though.”

The RFU is planning a £660m redevelopment of Twickenham, assuming a move to Milton Keynes is off the table. Sweeney said last month that it would be “a very difficult call” to stay at Twickenham if Richmond council did not grant a licence to host more concerts and mentioned Milton Keynes and Birmingham as possible destinations.

The RFU is permitted to host three a year and only two on consecutive nights with a limited capacity of 55,000. The union says Twickenham, which has a capacity of 82,000, is empty for 340 days a year with Sweeney previously claiming that, due to the restrictions, the RFU missed out on staging Beyoncé concerts. As a result the RFU is lobbying Richmond council for 15 events a year at a capacity of 75,000 and expects an answer by September.

“We’re making really good progress with Richmond,” Sweeney said. “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, Wembley, the O2, they can see why we need those non-rugby events to make the thing viable.

“We’ve always said our preference was to remain here. Not just for cultural reasons and the history. Hospitality and ticketing are 50% of our revenue and from a geographical point of view this is a really important part of the country to be in. There was a lot of investigation into what the different options are and we came out saying our preference would be to remain here.”

Meanwhile, it is understood England’s summer tour will be shown on Sky Sports after a TV deal was reached after fears that Steve Borthwick’s side would again be overlooked by a major broadcaster. Last summer Sky showed the two defeats in New Zealand but England’s victory against Japan was only streamed online. Eight years ago, when England toured Argentina during the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour, the BBC struck a last-minute deal to show the two Tests. England will again play two Tests against Argentina this summer before rounding off with a match against the USA in Washington.

Borthwick has added Bath’s Lee Blackett and Byron McGuigan of Sale to his coaching staff for the trip. Blackett will oversee the attack with Richard Wigglesworth on secondment with the Lions while McGuigan will assist Joe El-Abd with the defence.