Leeds United pain on cards in 49ers, Red Bull plans for more prawn sandwiches – Kieran Maguire
Leeds United will have to go through “short-term pain” after announcing plans to expand the capacity of Elland Road, according to Kieran Maguire.
The University of Liverpool’s football finance lecturer said on The Price of Football podcast on 26 September that the Whites need to get up to at least a 50,000 capacity to challenge at the top of English football so the aim is to increase match-day revenue.
While he predicted the club will have no problem selling out the larger stadium he pointed out it will involve shutting off areas of the ground along the way, which would necessarily keep fans out, while the work is done.
Maguire said (29m 45s): “If you want to be at the top table you’ve got to have at least a 50,000, and this appears to be the decision which has been made by 49ers investment and Red Bull that Elland Road, which is a fierce and ferocious stadium and it creates an absolutely cracking atmosphere, and credit Leeds United fans for doing that.
“The trouble is more prawn sandwiches need to be sold. It’s all very well having the fans who make the noise pay but they’ve got limited budgets so it looks as if there is a plan to 50,000. Leeds United will sell that out, they’ve got a big waiting list in terms of tickets, there’s a positive feeling on the back of their promotion a few seasons ago now.
“That will involve some short-term pain, I suspect, if they’re going to have to make certain sections of the ground unavailable on a match-by-match basis for a year or two.”
Elland Road expansion plans announced by Leeds United
The club plan to increase the capacity from 37,645 to around 53,000 as part of long-awaited works on the stadium.
Since everything is driven by money in the modern game it is not before time, especially with much of the ground in need of renovation anyway, and the Whites can be fairly confident in their ability to bring in thousands more fans each home game due to the level of support.
Leeds United’s announcement states plans to “significantly” increase the level of general admission seating so while the unfortunate reality of top level football is that clubs do have to cater for high-priced corporate and luxury attendances there will be hope that the unique atmosphere that Elland Road is known for isn’t lost [Mike Dean on Sky Sports, 20 April].
The club acknowledged that there will be a “loss of seating capacity” during the works so supporters will also hope to avoid missing out, but it is unlikely that could be entirely avoided.
There was concern among the fanbase after another chaotic transfer window at the 49ers running of the club, while Red Bull arrived to suspicion from many in the first place, but if the cash that has arrived at the club over the past year or so starts to finally bear fruit at the ground it will be a welcome development.
In other Leeds United news, Adam Pope has shared a verdict on Farke’s job amid links to Carlos Corberan.
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