Provisional Elland Road construction order and likely Leeds United stands affected first in expansion plans — YEP 26/9/24

By Joe Donnohue

Leeds United's designs for Elland Road redevelopment are still under wraps and at the planning stage but chief executive Angus Kinnear has previously provided an insight into how works are likely to take place once spades are in the ground.

Leeds cannot press ahead with Elland Road's expansion to the new, proposed capacity of 53,000 seats until approval has been granted by Leeds City Council, however a rigorous planning stage is already underway with key ambitions outlined in an official club statement released earlier this week.

While supporters may seek artistic impressions and blueprints of what a new-look Elland Road could possibly look like, those will not be made public until a later date, most likely after planning permission has been granted and the team are promoted back to the Premier League.

The project is a significant one, logistically and financially, and will only be undertaken if conditions are in place, such as having the requisite funds and demand to add a further 15,000-or-so seats to the club's historic stadium.

Chief executive Kinnear has already spoken at length about redevelopment and provisionally confirmed which areas of Elland Road would have their capacity increased.

During a 2021 interview with The Square Ball Podcast, Kinnear said: “The West Stand would be the first stand that we develop because it’s the oldest and has the most upside potential. Those discussions are in place with the council."

By upside potential, Kinnear clarified what this meant in a more recent interview, outlining that the bulk of the corporate offering in a revamped Elland Road would be housed in the West Stand, which has significant land on Fullerton Park to extend back onto.

The Norman Hunter South Stand, situated on Elland Road itself is a much trickier stand to develop given its proximity to a major Leeds roadway and residential housing across the single-lane street.

"You can either do the West and North at the same time, or you can do them separately," Kinnear told The Square Ball. "And you protect the attendance for the season that you’re doing it. The way that works is you build over the existing stand, so supporters can still sit in their seats, and then the next season they move upstairs and then you build the tier below it. So ideally you don’t lose significant capacity during the construction process. West and North could be done together [or] they can be done sequentially.

“And then it’s about probably joining it up to the East Stand, and it’s more of a redevelopment of the East Stand than knocking it down and starting again. And then the South Stand is the most challenging because you’ve got Elland Road behind it, so you don’t have the footprint behind to expand. So that would probably limit the expansion on that side," he added.

Whichever order Leeds decide upon, it is highly likely the West Stand will be the first port of call for construction crews. A 53,000-capacity Elland Road would also significantly increase the club's potential for matchday revenue, bringing it more in line with England's elite clubs, even if ticketing prices were to remain at their existing rate.