News this week broke that the new owners of Leeds United are looking to improve Elland Road significantly in the near future. It is safe to say, and I’m sure you will all agree, that Elland Road is due a serious makeover. No matter which angle you approach the infamous stadium, it looks tired. The view of the West Stand as you pass on the train and the Ken Bates cream cladding special on the East Stand from the M621. First impressions count and it currently doesn’t match the actual stature of the club. Looking good from the outside is obviously very important but it’s what is inside that really matters. Have we finally seen the back of three locks per toilet cubicle door in the Cheese Wedge? The pie stained wall in the Kop concourse? The extraction unit suspended from the ceiling in one toilet cubicle, which looks like it could suck you up and blast you into outer space (an option many of us would’ve taken in the last couple of seasons).
A brief video was posted online a few days ago which showed a carpet being fitted in the South Stand concourse. It also appeared to have had a lick of paint. Some will scoff, ‘It’s just a bit of carpet’, but it’s a start. It’s a start that shows that there is finally some care and attention being paid. Don’t get me wrong, we all want to see a winning side on the pitch, but doing so in a tidy and refurbished ground would give it more of a special and fresh feeling.
The 49ers have been rumoured to have looked at future designs and to all of our relief they have knocked back any suggestions of a ‘bowl shaped stadium’. They are taking notes from how Liverpool have expanded Anfield by building in and over their current stands. This would allow Leeds to maintain their raucous atmosphere as well as improve matchday income. Leeds generate around £1m per matchday, which is roughly £3m less than the likes of Spurs. The introduction of Frank Lowy, who has a net worth of £26bn, will be a huge player for the ground development. He is rumoured to be looking at how to utilise the space that currently occupies behind the West Stand. In the U.S, the 49ers built a completely new stadium outside of San Francisco itself, but it is safe to say that nothing like that will be happening here.
As a fan base we are impatient but we need to give it time. The season ticket waiting list of 24,000 and a ground expansion whilst in the Championship would be a very risky move, which is why a return to the money driven Premier League is a must if we are to progress at a rapid rate. The club, now in different hands, seem to understand the wants and needs of the fan base and the club as a whole. It is early days, but the professionalism is already evident. Long may it continue.
Elland Road is our home and it always will be.
