Leeds United news as 49ers ready to pump £200m into Elland Road works
The early stages of 49ers Enterprises ownership of Leeds United have begun well, with the Whites thriving under Daniel Farke’s management in the Championship.
On the field, the German coach has a squad at his disposal that are more than capable of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking and while that is the number one priority, the 49ers also have their attention set on Elland Road.
Leeds’ stadium has required work for a number of years, with more than 20,000 supporters on the waiting list for season tickets the Whites are missing out on a huge financial opportunity to have a much bigger attendance each week because of their out-of-date ground.
The 49ers are now ready to push forward with the proposed redevelopment of Elland Road and hope to begin the process of upgrading the stadium before the end of the campaign now that they are the single owners of Leeds United [Phil Hay, 17 October].
This is by no means a small deal for the football club and its new owners, they have already begun to work with planning consultants beginning the process and designs being made, the estimation is that the 49ers could have to spend £200million on the redevelopment [Daily Mail, 25 July].
For the 49ers, this sort of business is nothing new as they moved their San Francisco team to the new Levi’s Stadium in 2014, in a move that cost £1billion and it is the same person who orchestrated that move that is working on the redevelopment at Elland Road.
The summer transfer window made many of the 49ers sceptics buy into their vision for their football club, as they quickly reacted to the mass exodus of players following relegation and quickly and calmly added to their squad both in terms of coaching staff and playing.
But for anyone who remained unconvinced, the decision to pump up to £200m into a stadium or at least begin to before their first season in charge comes to a close is demonstration enough that the new Leeds United owners truly are the real deal.
After a few years of uncertainty and financial fear under Andrea Radrizzani, it feels hard to imagine the Whites being in much safer hands and the 49ers genuinely seem to have the best interests of the club at heart, both on and off of the pitch.
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