Football finance specialist Kieran Maguire anticipates Leeds United will suffer some short-term setbacks in their attempt to expand Elland Road’s capacity.
The team announced earlier this week that the Whites’ home stadium will hold up to 53,000 spectators.
With the stadium’s current capacity of 37,645, this will represent a major expansion of the current infrastructure.
Elland Road will overtake Old Trafford, Anfield, and the Emirates as the seventh-largest club stadium in England if the extension proceeds as planned.
When the project is finished in the upcoming years, Leeds should have one of the best contemporary stadiums in all of football.
Maguire anticipates that Leeds will experience some temporary hardship while the stadium extension is being built.
According to him, there would have to be a one- to two-season reduction in capacity due to construction, which will affect the team’s earnings from matchdays.
“The 49ers investment and Red Bull seem to have decided that a minimum of 50,000 people must attend to be at the top table. Elland Road is a fierce and ferocious stadium that creates an absolutely cracking atmosphere, and credit Leeds United fans for doing that,” Maguire stated on The Price of Football podcast.
The issue is that more sandwiches with prawns need to be sold.
“Having the fans who create the noise pay is great, but their budgets are constrained, so it appears that 50,000 is the target.
Leeds United will sell it out; they have a long waiting list for tickets, and since their promotion a few seasons ago, there has been a fantastic vibe.
“It seems like there will be some temporary discomfort if specific areas of the field need to be closed for a year or two, match by match.”
Leeds United’s promotion ambition
When Elland Road’s expansion is finished, Leeds will be striving to be a Premier League team.
However, there is currently no set date for when the stadium improvement project will begin, hence there is no firm estimate for when it will be completed.
This year, Daniel Farke’s team intends to fight for promotion, hoping to make it back to the top division on their second try.
After six games, Leeds is presently ranked sixth in the Championship table.
For Leeds, short-term suffering might be worth long-term benefit.
While construction is underway, portions of the stadium will need to be closed off, which will exclude certain stadium patrons.
However, 49ers Enterprises’ aspirations for the team are clearly demonstrated by the decision to increase the capacity to 53,000, as that is a stadium fit for a Premier League team.
Their accounts will be negatively impacted by both the initial reduction in their matchday earnings and the overall cost of construction.
But in the long run, modernizing and growing Elland Road may also result in more income, so the short-term suffering might be worthwhile.
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