Leeds United insider Graeme Bailey has revealed how the 49ers expect the club’s Elland Road expansion plans to go.
The good times just keep rolling for Leeds United who, after smashing Stoke City 6-0 on Easter Monday, sealed Premier League promotion after Sheffield United lost at Burnley.
It unsurprisingly sparked wild celebrations across the city and there has been even more good news since.
Though the bombshell that Leeds are ‘considering’ sacking Daniel Farke did threaten to dampen the mood, it has since emerged that the club’s plans to expand Elland Road have taken a positive step.
Leeds City Council officially backed plans to see Elland Road dramatically increase its capacity to 56,500 by agreeing on Wednesday to negotiate the sale of council-owned land around the ground to the club.
There are also plans to negotiate a deal to further develop the wider area surrounding Elland Road in a bid to rejuvenate the south of Leeds and make it a ‘thriving 365 day a year destination.’
Journalist Beren Cross has suggested work on the Elland Road expansion could begin as early as Autumn, while Graeme Bailey says Leeds owners 49ers Enterprises don’t foresee any issues emerging with the plans.
49ers don’t see any ‘issues’ with Elland Road expansion
Speaking exclusively to Leeds United News, insider Bailey said: “I’m told they are doing it.
“Pushing ahead and don’t foresee any issues. The 49ers, when they arrived, looked at a new stadium but they soon realised that was a non-starter.
“So they have progressed and they are happy with how talks have gone with the council, who want the club to stay close to the centre.”
What Leeds councillors said about the Elland Road expansion
Leeds City Council held a hearing on Wednesday when they discussed the plans surrounding the redevelopment of Elland Road, before coming to an unanimous agreement.
The official council X, formerly Twitter, account posted the following statement: “Leeds City Council’s executive board has just unanimously agreed the ambitious regeneration vision to make newly-promoted @LUFC’s Elland Road stadium one of the biggest in the country.”
According to the BBC, Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader, told the hearing: “If we’re a Premier League team, we need a Premier League stadium,” and that promotion “puts Leeds on the map.”
Conservative group leader on the Labour-run council, Allan Lamb, said a return to the Premier League will put “much more of a spotlight on the city.
“The key hope is Leeds will be in the Premier League to stay – and they need a stadium to fit that.”
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