Enter to win a Chelsea Pitch Owners share as CIA supports the CPO.
Two lucky CIA members will win a Chelsea Pitch Owner share of Stamford Bridge and the Chelsea FC name by entering our FREE on line contest by the Arsenal match on January 19th.
The CPO has owned the grounds and name Chelsea FC since 1997 to ensure that the club and name can not move without the approval of Chelsea supporters. As part of that structure, the CPO pays Chelsea FC annually and needs to add members each year to maintain a positive cash flow. You can learn more about the CPO below.
Chelsea in America are proud to support the CPO and, as such, are purchasing a share for one lucky member. The winner will own a share of Stamford Bridge!
• FREE... but you must enter.
• MUST answer the EPL Titles question correctly.
• Winner must be a current Chelsea in America member.
• Limit ONE entry per member; making multiple entries will result in elimination from contest.
• Contest ends on January 19, 2019.
CONTEST HAS ENDED
To understand this unique company, Chelsea Pitch Owners, you have to know a little history.
In the 1980s Chelsea FC was under threat from property developers who wanted to change Stamford Bridge into a housing development, which would have meant that the club would have to find a new home, possibly sharing with another club.
This was strongly opposed by the then Chairman of the club, Ken Bates, who eventually obtained the freehold in the ground in the early 1990s.
In order to ensure that we never again had the threat of being evicted from our ground, the club decided to set up CPO to guard against it, by selling shares to ordinary fans. The club loaned CPO the money to pay for the freehold, and CPO is duty bound to repay this to the club. CPO lease the ground to the club for a period of 199 years starting in 1997.
The structure of CPO, is such that no one person can unduly influence the company, and in the event of the club wishing to move, they either have to surrender the name Chelsea FC to CPO, or to obtain the permission of CPO to do so.
WHAT EXACTLY DOES CHELSEA PITCH OWNERS OWN? Through a wholly owned subsidiary (Chelsea Stadium Limited), CPO own the freehold of the footprint of the current stadium. The physical evidence of this is seen in the change in brick colour on the ground in places such as outside the megastore. This indicates the boundary. The stadium is leased back to Chelsea, who pay a nominal rent to CPO.
DOES CHELSEA PITCH OWNERS RUN THE STADIUM? No. We lease the stadium to the club, who run the stadium, and everything to do with it.
HOW DOES CHELSEA PITCH OWNERS REPAY ITS LOAN TO CHELSEA? CPO sells shares each year, and 85 per cent of the nominal value of each share is payed to the club as repayment on the loan.
HOW DOES CHELSEA PITCH OWNERS STAY IN BUSINESS? Even though there is a clause in our lease to the club that ensures that its debts can be paid, CPO tries to break even each year through selling shares in special ways, such as signed by players, or presented on the pitch, and through events such as dinners and tournaments.
BUY YOUR OWN SHARE: For as little as £35 and as much as £200 INCLUDING an on pitch presentation by a player, you can purchase your own CPO share or one for a Chelsea Supporter by going to the CPO web site here.