For supporters who want a bit more than a seat and a pie, Chelsea offer a full range of match day hospitality under the Club Chelsea banner. It is the premium end of a day at Stamford Bridge, combining a padded seat in one of the best parts of the ground together with dining, a lounge and a drink or two before and after the game. It costs a good deal more than an ordinary ticket, but it comes with one big advantage that keeps people coming back, which is that it does not rely on membership or loyalty points, meaning that it is often the most reliable way to get into a sold-out fixture.
Match by Match or For the Season
There are two main ways to buy. Match-by-match packages let you book hospitality for a single game, which suits a one-off treat, a special occasion or simply guaranteeing your place at a marquee fixture that you could not get a normal ticket for. Seasonal packages, by contrast, are more like a hospitality season ticket, covering all the home league games and usually the first home ties in the domestic cups, which run on an annual membership. Naturally, the seasonal route works out better value per game if you are a regular, whilst match-by-match is the one most visitors will want.
The Lounges & Suites
Club Chelsea spans a range of lounges and suites, each with its own character and price point. At the top sits the Harris Suite, named after the Chelsea legend Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, which offers first-class dining and prime seats in the West Stand right next to the Directors’ Box. The Tambling Suite, named after another club great in Bobby Tambling, is a step more relaxed, with seats in the West Stand middle tier and a less formal dining setting. The location of each of them promises not only good views but also the chance to spot a celebrity or two.
Elsewhere, the Champions’ Club offers a traditional four-course experience, with seats in the East Stand around the eighteen-yard line, whilst the Under the Bridge Sports Lounge takes a livelier, sports-bar approach and opens its doors a good three hours before kick-off. There is also a hospitality option run from the on-site Copthorne Hotel for those who like the idea of dining and watching without straying far from their seat. The exact line-up of lounges is refreshed from season to season, so it is always worth checking what is available for the game you have in mind.
Executive & Private Boxes
For groups, celebrations or corporate entertaining, Stamford Bridge also has private executive boxes, which typically seat somewhere between eight and 24 guests. A box gives you your own enclosed space overlooking the pitch, with food and drinks brought to you and the run of a private balcony for the match itself. It is the most exclusive, and the most expensive, way to watch a game at the Bridge and it is usually booked either for the season or for a specific occasion. If you can afford it, it’s arguably the best way to watch a Chelsea game.
What You Actually Get
The details vary from one lounge to the next, but the core of a hospitality package is broadly consistent. You can expect a premium padded seat in a good position, access to a lounge that opens a couple of hours or more before kick-off and a meal that runs from a buffet to full multi-course dining depending on the tier. Many packages throw in a drinks element, from a reception glass of something on arrival to an inclusive bar, along with a match day programme, whilst with certain packages you get the chance to hear from a former Chelsea player.
In short, you are paying for a whole afternoon or evening of entertainment, rather than just the 90 minutes or so of the football match itself.
Is It Worth It?
That depends entirely on what you are after and what you can afford. If you simply want to watch the football as cheaply as possible, hospitality is not for you and never will be. But if the game is the centrepiece of a celebration, if you are entertaining guests or if it is the only realistic way to get into the ground in order to watch a match you’re desperate to see, it’s going to be worth every penny. The reliability is the real selling point of any hospitality package, given the fact that it is a guaranteed seat at a game that might otherwise be impossible to attend.
How to Book
Hospitality is sold directly by the club through Club Chelsea, which is the place to head to in order to check current packages, availability and prices for a given game. Prices are not always published up front and shift depending on the opposition that the Blues are up against as well as the lounge you’re booking into, so it is worth enquiring for the specific match you want. If you would rather chase a standard ticket instead, the various routes are covered on the Getting Tickets page, whilst if you are making a weekend of it, the on-site hotel is reviewed on the Stamford Bridge Hotel page.