Leeds United have revealed more plans on how the club intends to expand the capacity of Elland Road to 53,000 seats in the near future.
The 49ers have many big plans to develop Leeds United as a club and as a business, but the first goal to achieve that potential is to secure promotion.
After that, the club will be hoping they can quickly proceed with plans to expand the stadium to cope with demand, which has grown tremendously during Marcelo Bielsa’s time at the club.
The club issued a major update earlier this week regarding more official plans regarding the Elland Road expansion.
The statement included details of the proposed new capacity at LS11, which will raise it to 53,000 from 37,645 and improve infrastructure to help Leeds achieve UEFA Category 4 status.
Such a move would make Leeds’ Elland Road the seventh largest club venue in the country and a firm presence among Europe’s elite grounds.
They have enlisted the help of professionals with a proven track record to oversee brilliant projects such as Liverpool’s Anfield redevelopment.
There is no denying the fact that Leeds have the potential to break into some of the bigger clubs in the Premier League, just like we are currently seeing with Aston Villa.
Leeds’ financial strength in the Premier League has been highlighted by the Deloitte Football Money League published in 2023, which shows the clubs revenue in 21/22.
In Leeds’ second season in the top flight, they had the ninth highest revenue in the division and the 18th highest in the world at £186.56m – more than Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Brighton, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Ajax, Benfica, Sevilla and countless others .
Leeds reached this 18th place in the world despite avoiding relegation on the final day and finishing 17th in the division.
With Elland Road routinely sold out while Leeds were in League One, they hit a sort of revenue ceiling without climbing higher up the table towards Europe, instead losing their survival.
If Elland Road were to expand by around 16,000 seats, that income would jump even higher and allow Leeds to consolidate their position away from the bottom three much more comfortably.
The 49ers have a much better chance of realizing that potential than Andrea Radrizzani could, and with the expansion funding, Leeds will be a step closer to becoming the Premier League side they once were at the turn of the millennium.