Simon Grayson reveals info Peter Lowy told him about Leeds stadium upgrade
Leeds United recently unveiled plans to expand and upgrade Elland Road.
Leeds have returned to the Premier League and will aim to survive and grow there rather than dropping straight back down to the Championship.
Expanding Elland Road would not only help Leeds compete at a higher level in the long run, but it would also give supporters easier access to match tickets.
However, there is a concern that former manager Simon Grayson has addressed over the expansion plans.
Grayson reveals Leeds want to keep Elland Road atmosphere
Many may be concerned that an expansion of Elland Road would see the atmosphere diluted at Leeds, but Grayson has now revealed that the club have plans in place to ensure this does not happen.
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Grayson revealed that board member Peter Lowy told him Leeds recognise the importance of the atmosphere in certain sections of the stadium, and do not want to lose it.
“I spoke to Peter Lowy a few months ago, he’s part of the development. He said ‘we cannot lose what is iconic with Leeds, with the intimidation value,” Grayson explained.
“A lot of the new stadiums go further away from the playing surface, but they want to keep and build above it all – keep the South Stand and the Kop, and have a real hostile environment, but with 50 thousand people instead of 30 thousand.
“There’s 20-odd thousand on the waiting list, and there’s exciting times ahead.”
Leeds need to keep Elland Road hostility
The atmosphere at Elland Road will play a huge part for Leeds as they attempt to stay up in the Premier League, and making their home ground a fortress will be crucial.
Teams are often intimidated when playing away at Elland Road, but with a lot of new stadiums losing their edge, many may fear that similar happens to Leeds.
When newer stadiums or redeveloped grounds put fans further away from the pitch and expand the capacity, the noise is diluted and the fans cannot get ‘on top’ of the players like at Elland Road now.
It is promising that the board clearly recognise this issue, and are planning for the new stadium to be designed to prevent losing the ability for the crowd to play a bigger part.