Wembley groundshare between Chelsea and Spurs back on the table for 2017-18

It's been a few months since we've heard anything new regarding plans for Chelsea's temporary home while the new stadium is built on the site of the old one.

Earlier this season, the big story was that the Blues were hoping to get exclusive use of Wembley for the three seasons we'd be away from Stamford Bridge — with a fourth built in as a safety precaution in case of delays — and that we were willing to pay extra to keep Spurs out of it.  Spurs' leadership even whined about the unfairness of that all.  But apparently the prospect of having to play in Milton Keynes has forced their hand and, as reported by Matt Law of the Telegraph, they've found enough money in their couch cushions to match our bid for the use of the stadium.  This has once again opened up the possibility of a groundshare between the two teams.

Since Spurs would only need to play away from White Hart Lane for one season, the groundshare would only be for the 2017-18 season.  With matching £15m bids from both London clubs, the FA could be pocketing upwards of £75m from the whole enterprise (4 x £15m from Chelsea, 1 x £15m from spurs) so it's hardly a surprise that they've supported the idea of the teams sharing the stadium since it was first floated.

For Chelsea (and presumably Spurs, too), the biggest concern would be fixture congestion , especially if both teams had European commitments in addition to their Premier League fixture lists.  Wembley's already acquired a reputation for bad pitches (thanks, NFL, among other reasons); playing games every weekend (Chelsea, Spurs alternating) and also every midweek would not be helpful at all.

Time to up the Chelsea bid, I suppose.  Sorry, Spurs.