Funds in place to increase capacity to 55,000 — Marching On Together 1/12/23

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49ers Enterprise have accelerated plans to expand the capacity at Elland Road, after securing funds upwards of £100m through sales of shares in the West Yorkshire club. Presently, Elland Road can accommodate 37,800 fans, but has a waiting list of over 20,000. It is hoped, that with major development (especially to the West Stand), that the capacity can be increased to 55,000.

Ackerley Partners, a US venture capital firm, will be fronting the cash needed for the project. The Washington based company already own NHL side Seattle Kraken as well as Basketball outfits Seattle Supersonics and Seattle Storm.

Whilst increasing the capacity at Elland Road will allow thousands more Leeds fans to see their heroes in action every month, what kind of impact will it have on the fans?

Plans to develop, and build to a brand new 'state of the art' Stadium on the outskirts of Leeds have been put on hold (in the short to mid term at least), so for now, this is the only option available to the club. It will allow almost 20,000 more fans to watch the game in person, and raise revenue to £400m a season.

Row after row of tiered seating will ensured thousands more get to go to games, but by watching the game from further away / a more elevated position, will it spoil fans enjoyment? It's not as if the present seating situation can be tweaked! The distance between seats is already snug, and with hardly any space to the rows in-front, it is a surprise that more accidents of falling backwards have not been reported.

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