YEP 23/6/21 Leeds United Supporters Club make seventy Elland Road proposals including 'biggest kop in England' akin to Borussia Dortmund's Yellow Wall

LEEDS United Supporters Club have written to Whites CEO Angus Kinnear with 70 proposals for Elland Road development, including the biggest kop stand in the country.

By Graham Smyth

The development of the Don Revie [North] stand to enable a ‘Wall of Noise’ akin to the Yellow Wall at Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park in Leeds’ twin city is chief among the suggestions from the Supporters Club.

Newly-appointed acting chairman Lord John Mann is to meet with Leeds City Council and local community representatives to present the supporters’ vision, having already briefed MP Tracey Crouch who is leading the government’s fan-led football review.

“Our proposed single tier Revie stand will take the Elland Road atmosphere to a new level creating the Leeds Wall of Noise, unprecedented anywhere in football,” he said

“We look forward to fruitful discussions with the club owners.”

The proposals emerged through a working group and consultation across the branches of the Supporters Club.

Secretary of the Supporters Club Chris Hall hopes the club’s fanbase will be supportive of the suggestions.

“We hope that all fans will get behind these proposals,” he said.

“Our Revie stand proposals will be an actual points winner for Leeds United.”

Phil Barrett of Scarborough and District branch believes the Revie Stand proposal would augment what is already a special matchday atmosphere at Elland Road.

“A vast single tier Revie stand would provide Leeds United with a huge white wall of noise on match days,” he said.

“Home players would relish playing in front of it and opposition players would need a stout heart.”

Mick Hewitt of South Kirkby and District branch added: “Our desire to keep the same atmosphere or better led us to look at the Dortmund Kop. I would welcome the increase in capacity to amplify the volume created.”

Proposals also include a new West Stand, a supporters facility underneath one of the new expanded stands, a green transport plan and improvements to the supporter experience, including upgraded toilet facilities and stadium refreshments.

In a letter to Kinnear the Supporters Club welcomed the news that Leeds United plan to increase the Elland Road capacity to 55,000.

The Whites have shelved plans to build a new training ground at the former Matthew Murray site, proposing that the Parklife scheme, initially slated for Fullerton Park, moves to the old high school plot instead.

Stadium redevelopment is a more pressing concern for the club thanks to promotion to the Premier League and the increased stake in the club held by the financial backers of the San Francisco 49ers.

The letter, co-signed by Mann, Chris Hall, Phil Beeton and Julie Trimble, said: “We recognise that the Club wishes to expand capacity, which we warmly welcome, and increase corporate facilities which we understand as being very important to the club.

“Our input is about the stadium overall and in particular, the desire amongst fans for Elland Road to be the most welcoming, supporter friendly and atmospheric stadium in English football and indeed in Europe.

“We are strongly of the view that alongside developing the West Stand to allow significant new corporate opportunities, which is possible without having to dislocate existing long standing West Stand season ticket holders, that this should be complemented by building the biggest kop in the country.

“We would also want to see a fan facility that allows the Supporters Club to socialise, located underneath one of the stands, which we would be happy to run, and create a facility that will attract fans to Elland Road prior to kick-off and be useable throughout the week.

“We are keen to open detailed discussions on where and how such a facility could be created to serve the interests of both the club and fans and we have more detailed suggestions on how this could be successfully implemented.”

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