Leeds United’s reason for delayed Elland Road expansion emerges, Radz cited – Phil Hay
Leeds United are planning on expanding Elland Road under the 49ers, a change that has been in the pipeline for some time in LS11.
Leicester City’s visit to Elland Road represented the biggest game of the
season so far for Leeds, and it showed in how the atmosphere really got going.
A comeback win sparked in the last 10 minutes of the game saw ridiculous
noise that hasn’t been present for years at Elland Road, even at its recent best.
Elland Road needs expansion to make most of Leeds fanbase
The celebrations at full time were immense when Leeds came out 3-1
winners, with all four stands bouncing to I Predict A Riot by the Kaiser Chiefs, but there’s untapped potential there.
Demand for tickets is always high at Elland Road at the moment, whether
that be in the current Championship season, or when the Whites were a Premier League outfit.
Therefore, an expansion is required to not only cope with the demand, but also
to bring the stadium much more up-to-date with the times.
Plans to extend the stadium up to a capacity close to 55,000 has been
common knowledge for some time, meanwhile.
Phil Hay: Finances didn’t allow for Leeds to expand under Radrizzani
The Athletic’s Phil Hay has now shared further insight into Leeds’ plans to expand the stadium, something that has
been delayed significantly due to relegation from the top flight.
Former owner Andrea Radrizzani was frequently vocal about wanting to
expand, but Hay outlines that the Italian wasn’t able to finance it through his own clout:
“Redevelopment plans for Elland Road have been in the ether for four or five
years, without ever proceeding to the planning-application stage. The club’s
former owner, Andrea Radrizzani, was in charge when architectural images of
how an ungraded Elland Road might look were first created but he lacked the
financial muscle to make the project happen alone.
“For as long as it was a minority shareholder, the 49ers Enterprises group
was not prepared to commit itself to an expensive rebuild of an arena that it had
limited control over. It was only when the 49ers’ 100 per cent buy-out of
Radrizzani went through officially in September that ownership of Elland
Road went with it — but by then, Leeds had lost their Premier League status again.”
49ers will surely expand if (or when) Leeds get promoted
None of this matters unless Leeds get into the Premier League once again, and
with the 49ers now in full control of the club, two things are much more likely:
backing for the manager to consolidate in the league properly, and there
It might be some years down the line, but it’s just frustrating that Radrizzani
promised so much when it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to deliver on an expansion.
We now have ownership in place that looks much more capable of delivering
on the expansion front, which calls for exciting times ahead.
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