Twickenham: RFU planning to stay and Chelsea ground-share not ruled out, says Bill Sweeney
RFU's Bill Sweeney reveals union no longer entertaining move away from Allianz Stadium Twickenham; March 2024 brought reports RFU looked at Wembley, while last month Sweeney claimed they may still leave over licensing restrictions; Sweeney fails to rule out Chelsea at Twickenham too
Monday 28 April 2025 17:48, UK
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has told Sky Sports moving away from Allianz Stadium Twickenham is no longer something the union are exploring, adding he is not ruling out the potential for Chelsea to play there in the future.
In March 2024, it was revealed the RFU were looking at possible alternatives to renovating the home of English rugby, with the option of buying a 50 per cent share in Wembley from the Football Association discussed before being discounted.
Last month, Sweeney then said England may still leave Twickenham over licensing restrictions that have stopped them from hosting Beyonce concerts. Speaking then, Sweeney said investment cannot be justified if the license restrictions do not change.
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On Monday, Sweeney - who recently survived a vote of no confidence - revealed the RFU were no longer entertaining a move away from Twickenham.
"No, our conversations with Richmond Borough are really productive and really positive," he said.
"The point I was trying to make to one of those questions, which was how important is it for you to have non-rugby events at the stadium. Having non-rugby events at the Allianz is important in terms of the additional revenue it brings in, and it can justify and support your investment into it.
"The point I was making was there have been a number of people who have expressed that and said how much they would appreciate non-rugby events taking place at a rugby-related stadium.
"But our intention and preference is to, we've always said, stay here.
"Discussions with Richmond are very positive and productive, so hopefully we can continue that way."
As previously reported, the RFU has a £663m plan to revamp the ground, simply called Twickenham prior to its rebranding last year, that has been England's home since it was built in 1909.
As it stands, the licence allows Allianz Stadium to host three non-rugby events per year, no more than two consecutively and only one of those can be on a Friday, all with a restricted capacity of 55,000.
A greenfield site in Birmingham also previously came under consideration to become the new home of English rugby until the RFU decided to remain at Twickenham.
When asked about the potential for Chelsea to need a stadium for a period of time should Stamford Bridge be rebuilt, Sweeney revealed discussions have not happened regarding any short-term move for the football club to Twickenham, but did not rule it out either.
"We haven't had that conversation," he said. "Obviously it could be potentially good from a financial perspective.
"But you'd have to have a very deep conversation with the Richmond Borough and the local residents."
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