Chelsea Football Club will receive assistance from Hammersmith and Fulham Council so they can remain at Stamford Bridge.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich recently attempted to purchase the freehold of the stadium from supporter group Chelsea Pitch Owners, who own shares of the Southwest London venue, so he could move the club to a bigger stadium.
Abramovich's failed bid has been recognised by the Council who have released a statement saying they will throw their weight behind keeping Chelsea at their current home by planning to extend the venue and surrounding areas.
"In light of the recent decision by Chelsea Pitch Owners plc to retain its freehold of the ground, we reaffirm our desire to see Chelsea FC remain in the borough and our commitment to help the club to remain at its historic home of Stamford Bridge," read the Council statement.
"We recognise that all our clubs will need greater capacity to accommodate growth in their fan bases and that new Financial Fair Play rules necessitate generating extra match-day revenue to remain competitive with the leading English and European teams.
"The council now proposes to examine whether there are planning options to expand Stamford Bridge to accommodate a larger capacity, recognising that such a project must be economically viable, benefit local businesses and not unreasonably affect residents.
"We look forward to working closely with Chelsea FC and all local stakeholders as soon as possible to examine the options of redeveloping Stamford Bridge."
Chelsea said in response this afternoon: "Chelsea Football Club welcomes the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's commitment to see the club stay in the borough and importantly their recognition of our need for greater capacity at Stamford Bridge.
"As an initial step in a renewed dialogue with the borough, we would like to explore promptly with LBHF how they propose helping us address the club's current problem of Stamford Bridge having substantially reduced capacity for big games.
"We will be happy to meet borough officials to discuss this further and especially their desire to see us stay at Stamford Bridge."
