Leeds United Elland Road expansion latest: 'Announcements to come', 2-stage plans, Premier League caveat — YEP 21/3/25

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By Kyle Newbould

The latest surrounding Leeds United’s planned expansion of Elland Road.

Leeds United took a huge step towards the development of Elland Road earlier this season after confirming plans to expand its capacity in September.

The club confirmed plans to increase the iconic stadium’s maximum capacity from 37,645 to 53,000 while bringing it in line with the European elite as a UEFA Category 4 ground. The YEP reported at the time how 49ers Enterprises had already committed to spending £10m to get the process to the point of planning approval, with a wide range of architects, structural engineers and other specialists brought in to assist.

Leeds are yet to publish any images of what an expanded Elland Road might look like but there has been plenty said on the exciting project since it was first announced in September. And below, the YEP has rounded up some of the key developments.

Elland Road ‘announcements to come’

Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe has hinted that fresh information surrounding the expansion of Elland Road could come soon, with ‘a lot of pre-development work’ already done. The 49ers Enterprises chief spoke recently at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit, explaining in more detail how a phased construction will increase capacity incrementally.

“Our goal is to expand Elland Road. There will probably be a couple of phases that ultimately take us to 53,000,” Marathe said last month. “The first phase will likely be 47,000 then up to 53,000. Of paramount importance is to keep the cauldron and electricity of the stadium the same as it is today. Elland Road is a stadium managers and players of other clubs don’t like playing at. It’s been called a cauldron and a hurricane of noise.

“It is really important for us to get more of our supporters into the stadium, and make it even more difficult for other clubs to come and play in, but we want to preserve some of the magic of what Elland Road is. We have done a lot of the pre-development work, in picking architects and working with the local council. There are probably some announcements to come and I am really excited about that.”

Fresh face introduced

Leeds fans got to learn of a new name involved with the stadium plans shortly before Christmas, with Angus Kinnear introducing Ben Allen into a Supporters’ Advisory Board (SAB) meeting to explain his role. Allen appears to have been tasked with understanding current issues with the matchday experience for supporters which can be improved alongside the expansion.

Minutes published from a SAB meeting in December said: “AK (Angus Kinnear) introduces Ben Allen (BA) from Elevate, who the club have hired to lead a feasibility study into stadium redevelopment. The company have real expertise and are entirely independent, consulting with supporters, stakeholders and market developments etc.

“BA discusses who the company have worked with in the USA and Europe. Consultancy will look into general admission/ hospitality seating, ticketing costs etc. Purpose for joining meeting is to understand current matchday limitations and how they can be addressed during the redevelopment.”

Premier League caveat

Elland Road becoming a 53,000-capacity venue only appears likely once Leeds are promoted to the Premier League, according to the YEP’s chief football writer Graham Smyth. Development of the stadium has been a hot topic for several years and surfaced the last time promotion was achieved under Marcelo Bielsa, albeit with little palpable progress.

September’s announcement, coupled with the 49ers’ commitment to spending £10m, would suggest they are much further along in their plans than previous owner Andrea Radrizzani ever was. But regardless of their intentions, financing such a project would likely require Premier League money and so Leeds will be desperate to retain top spot in the Championship come May.

“It's difficult for them to put a timeframe on something when it largely is Premier League dependent,” Smyth told the YEP’s Inside Elland Road podcast earlier this season. “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.”

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