'Start digging' — Graham Smyth's verdict on Leeds United Elland Road expansion plans — YEP 15/10/44
By Kyle Newbould
Leeds United announced plans to expand Elland Road last
month but there is plenty of work to do before capacity can increase.
Graham Smyth believes Leeds United can get their Elland Road
expansion plans in place so that spades can hit the ground once promotion is
secured.
Leeds announced exciting plans to redevelop their iconic
stadium last month, with the intention of increasing the capacity to around
53,000 - a significant improvement on the current 37,645 maximum. A phased
construction project is expected to focus on the North and West Stands in a bid
to bring Elland Road in line with UEFA's Category 4 status, which is reserved
for Europe’s elite grounds.
With a season-ticket waiting list of more than 20,000, Leeds
would have no problem filling a 53,000-capacity stadium in the Championship but
the financial challenges of continued second-tier football present an obvious
risk, with revenue down massively compared to the Premier League. And the YEP’s
chief football writer Smyth isn’t expecting any major development until
promotion is secured, although there are ways for club chiefs to get the ball
rolling beforehand.
“I think people will see it as positive news,” Smyth told
the YEP’s Inside Elland Road podcast recently. “Not a lot of people are saying
‘this is stupendous’ and they’re not doing cartwheels and backflips. But it is
more flesh on the bone and I think it's more of a commitment on record from the
49ers to say ‘we are doing this’.
“You don’t commit to spending £10m getting to the planning
approval stage and then say ‘you know what, actually we don't fancy building
the stadium’. They just don't strike me as those kinds of people. They are very
very serious about stadium redevelopment. I can also understand fans saying
spades in the ground please, timeframes and that's not there yet.
“It's difficult for them to put a timeframe on something
when it largely is Premier League dependent. I don't see them increasing the
capacity to 53,000 until Leeds are a Premier League club. I just don't see it.
You can do all the work in the background and get it ready. So they don't have
to do the work straight away but they can get everything ready to go so it’s
literally Premier League football - go, start digging.”
That ball does look to have been set on its way and the YEP
understands 49ers Enterprises have committed to spending £10m on the project in
order to get it to the point of planning approval. A number of specialists have
also been confirmed as part of the project team including architects KSS,
structural engineers Buro Happold and RISE, all of whom have been involved in
recent projects including Tottenham and Everton’s new stadiums.
Upon confirming the plans, club chairman Paraag Marathe
vowed to retain Elland Road’s ‘unique atmosphere’ while ensuring the stadium
was fit for modern times. He said: “We recognise how important Elland Road is
to the Leeds United fans and the wider community. The opportunity to refresh a
century-old stadium, coupled with the legacy of Leeds United, is unprecedented.
“Our plans reinforce our commitment to the long-term success
of the club and I am excited that we are going to be able to welcome thousands
more supporters to every game, in a stadium that retains the unique atmosphere
of Elland Road. We look forward to sharing our plans with supporters and the
local community for their input.”