Leeds United announced earlier this week they are moving towards the next steps in their plans to increase Elland Road.
The Whites are looking to become the seventh largest club stadium in the country by increasing capacity to circa 53,000 from 37,645.
These are plans that have been in the offing for several years now but only under the full ownership of 49ers Enterprises has it become a firm possibility.
There had been some concern Leeds’ failure to return to the Premier League would impact the stadium redevelopment. However, Paraag Marathe claimed pretty quickly Leeds would still be pressing on.
And based on Leeds’ announcement on Monday, Marathe’s comments have proven to be correct. It will now be interesting to see how long it is before work begins.
Jordan has exciting Leeds prediction after Elland Road update
Financially, Leeds are always going to be worse off in the Championship and so it would have been easy for the 49ers to therefore shelve these Elland Road plans.
But this is a real show of their long-term commitment to Leeds. Despite concerns over Red Bull’s involvement, it has been suggested 49ers see themselves owning Leeds for at least 10 years.
Leeds’ owners have good experience in this regard having overseen the development of San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium back in 2014. It is also undergoing a £150 million renovation ahead of 2026.
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan now thinks Leeds have an ownership group that knows what they’re doing.
With that in mind, he is tipping Leeds to use this stadium improvement as the catalyst to getting back to the top.
He said: “You have got a football club that has comeback, Bates has been in there, other people have been in there and have now got a club that is back, and needs to be back in the Premier League and is building a 53,000 all-seater stadium.
“That would be the seventh biggest stadium in the country. It tells you where they are and where they should be, and eventually probably where they will be.”
How Leeds are ensuring Elland Road atmosphere remains intact
Once concern some Leeds fans have had is how building a bigger stadium would affect the atmosphere.
Even though it has been quieter recently, it is still one of the best in the country. Just recently Largie Ramazani said Elland Road is louder than the Santiago Bernabeu.
As such, Leeds confirmed in their official statement they are working closely with ‘special acoustic consultants’ to ensure the atmosphere remains intact.
It is good to see they are genuinely taking fan concerns into account when making decisions about the club.
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