Leeds United have revealed plans to increase the capacity of their Elland Road home should they be promoted to the Premier League.
Plans To Increase Elland Road Capacity
Project To Bolster The Community Through Leeds United
The ambitious announcement was made by managing director Angus Kinnear.
Leeds United celebrated their centenary birthday yesterday with a number of events.
The celebrations included a service at Salem Chapel, the birthplace of the Whites.
There was also a civic reception at Leeds Civic Hall.
As part of the celebrations, Kinnear gave a presentation on the club’s future.
His talk included proposals to let the academy and training ground to return to the city centre; he also revealed a proposal to increase the capacity of Elland Road.
Leeds United’s managing director, Kinnear, said: “They both fall under the title of ‘Vision; Elland Road’.
“Part of it is around the stadium and taking it up to 50,000 and turning it into a true ground which can compete with other stadiums in the Premier League and in Europe.
“More importantly is what we what we want to do with the community.
“We want to bring the training ground back into the city centre, not just the training ground but the academy.
“We announced a few weeks ago that we agreed heads of terms with the council for the former site of Matthew Murray School.
“The idea is to create a pathway for inner-city youth.” Kinnear continued. “We want to bring world-class facilities into our community too.
“We are working on the Parklife scheme with the FA which will be an £8 million investment which will bring facilities onto Fullerton Park in the heart of Beeston.
“These facilities will be open to the local populous.
“They will be sporting, educational and social.
“What we believe we can create is the best community facility not only in Leeds but in the country.”
Premier League Status Essential For Elland Road Development
After the ceremony, Kinnear explained that Premier League status was essential for the cost of expanding Elland Road to be viable.
The Whites’ home currently has a capacity of 37,890 and the developments would make it the eighth-largest stadium in the top-flight.
Kinnear said: “We have tentative plans to increase the capacity to 50,000 when we’re in the Premier League.
“I think it is appropriate for a club of Leeds’ scale and calibre.
“It will help us to compete with teams at that level.
“The way the financials work require us to be in the Premier League before we can commence that work and before it makes sense from a business perspective.
“We know when we’re in the Premier League we’d sell 50,000 out week in, week out.”
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