Leeds United's Elland Road expansion plans receive major update — Football League World 24/4/24
BY DECLAN HARTE
Leeds United are planning to expand their home stadium to a
capacity of 50,000
Leeds United have held talks with relevant stakeholders in
the city as the club continues to take steps towards expanding Elland Road.
According to iNews, the Whites are working on plans to
expand their home stadium to 50,000.
The Championship side is currently battling for promotion to
the Premier League under Daniel Farke, but their place in the top flight for
next year is far from guaranteed.
Elland Road has proven an iconic home for the club, with a
capacity of 37,890.
But 49ers Enterprises, who took over full control of Leeds
last summer, are hoping to expand the size of the stadium in the near future.
Leeds are beginning plans for the upcoming summer, but are
unable to do anything concrete until their league status is secure.
Farke’s side currently occupies a place inside the automatic
promotion places, but Ipswich Town are only a point behind in third and have a
game in hand.
The new owners have worked to ensure the club’s finances
remain healthy, but remaining in the Championship could have a big knock-on
effect at several levels of the club.
It’s understood that there is a quiet optimism behind the
scenes about the health of the Yorkshire outfit compared to their last
promotion campaign in 2020, but failure to go up could change things quite
quickly.
Expanding the stadium is seen as essential for keeping pace
in the Premier League, so staying in the second tier might put a pause on any
Elland Road plans.
The future of Archie Gray is also considered a big question
mark, especially if they remain in the Championship.
The club’s wage bill is believed to be a major concern in
regards to the financial rules, so his £50 million valuation could be a way to
increase funds while battling in the second tier.
It would be far from ideal to lose such a talented
youngster, produced from their own academy, but his sale would ease any
financial burden on the club.
Securing promotion to the Premier League would put to bed
any fears about needing to sell the midfielder, with clubs like Liverpool and
Bayern Munich both reportedly interested in the teenager.
The future of the club’s director of football position is
also in question, with Nicky Hammond currently occupying an interim role as a
recruitment advisor.
He has reportedly impressed during his time in the role and
is seen as a potential candidate for the permanent position, although plenty of
interest is expected once the search begins for an appointment.
A lot of these plans for the Yorkshire side are quite
exciting, and show the ambition that the new owners have for the club.
However, failure to gain promotion could put a lot of those
plans on hold, and set the club back at least a year, if not more.
That puts a lot of pressure on the team to get the results
needed to secure promotion in the next few weeks, but the 4-3 win over
Middlesbrough on Monday showed their grit and determination.
