Leeds United: Elland Road expansion not impossible in Championship as Finance Expert speaks out
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United.
Dan Plumley has insisted that it is not impossible for Leeds United to go ahead with the expansion of Elland Road while still in the Championship.
The finance expert admitted it would take a significant amount of capital investment from the 49ers Enterprises, and promotion to the Premier League would help that.
It comes after the Daily Mail reported on January 3 that architecture plans were sorted and frameworks had been drawn up for the work in LS11
“I think promotion to the Premier League certainly doesn’t do it any harm,” he exclusively told MOT Leeds News.
“It obviously puts Leeds United back in the world’s most-watched league and you’ve got the exposure angle to that and the money that comes in from the extra TV broadcasting payments, and the ability to leverage commercial opportunities.
“So, I guess it helps the situation, it doesn’t make it impossible to do that in the Championship, especially given the ownership structure of the club, looking at the American market as well.
“It does need a significant amount of capital investment, that’s for sure, so the finances come into it and will dictate the direction of travel as much as anything, but it’s not impossible to do it in the Championship.
“Again, I think that goes back to the wider points, not just Leeds United but other clubs looking to develop their stadium and looking to see what else they can do with their stadium, it is a way to generate revenue from the stadium when it is not in use on matchdays.
“That’s part of the much bigger picture. All of that comes at a cost, it’s much easier to do it all things considered being a Premier League club, but it’s not impossible to do it as a Championship club if you have the investment behind it.”
In other Leeds United news, our Expert also believes that the Whites could fine one of their players after an incident
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