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AFC Wimbledon agree to sell stadium to Premier League champions Chelsea
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The owners of League Two side AFC Wimbledon have overwhelmingly agreed to sell their current ground to Premier League champions Chelsea.
The Dons Trust held a vote on plans to sell the club's Kingsmeadow ground to Chelsea, and it was backed with a 98% of the vote.
However, the sale is conditional on Wimbledon receiving planning permission to build a new stadium in Merton. The club have been at Kingsmeadow since they were formed in 2002, and a year later bought the lease from non league side Kingstonian, who also play their home games at the ground.
If the move does go ahead, Chelsea will use the ground to host games for their youth and women's teams.
The proposal will be voted on by all Dons shareholders next month, although approval is expected to be a formality as the Dons Trust controls 90% of shares in the League Two club.
"The successful vote on the stadium sale is an important milestone in helping to return AFC Wimbledon to its spiritual home in Merton," said Dons Trust chair Matthew Breach.
"There is still a lot of work to do to deliver a new stadium but the outcome of the vote shows the overwhelming support among the club's fans for having Wimbledon play where it belongs, back in Merton."