Leeds United News’ football finance expert has revealed the latest information on the club’s plans for Elland Road redevelopment after Angus Kinnear’s comments.
Angus Kinnear doesn’t regret joining Everton after leaving Leeds United in May. He has been giving his thoughts to Toffee TV, where Kinnear revealed the transfer market obstacles for Leeds and his current side.
Kinnear has explained his thoughts on Leeds 1-0 Everton as the opening game of the season, but he also explained some key details on the Hill Dickinson Stadium and an added wrinkle regarding Elland Road, too.
Elland Road is to be redeveloped by the 49ers. It involves many moving parts and Leeds City Council agreed to negotiate a sale of Elland Road land, while it’s been said that a final decision on Elland Road is imminent.
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Angus Kinnear’s comments and the plan for Elland Road
Kinnear said: “So, I think part of the vision for the stadium and part of the vision that we’ve had with Leeds City Council and the combined authority, is that the stadium can be a catalyst for wider regeneration across the northern shore.
“And I think and I think it will be. I think it’s it’s started in a small way already, but I think we can certainly drag the the spirit and vibrancy and commerciality of the city up north. How Everton precisely are going to be involved in that is still to be defined, but we are clearly a core tenant.
“We’re right at the heart of the changes that are being made in there. And the catalyst free regeneration and I think there are parcels of land which would either be interesting to the club independently or the club in partnership with other developers.”
Off the back of this development, we spoke to Adam Williams for any further information on what this means for Leeds, especially with Elland Road’s revamp a topic of discussion presently.
Speaking exclusively to Leeds United News, Williams said: “Everton want to buy the land at Nelson Dock but Colin Chong — who it looks like is going to be in charge of the regeneration-style project centred on the Hill Dickinson.
“He says says they would need at least one-third of the money to come from the public purse. This appears to be a growing trend, i.e., sports teams using their stadiums as part of a wider real-estate play and looking to get some of the costs offset in government grants.
“When I’ve spoken to Dan Meis, the architect who designed the Everton stadium, he’s highlighted how this is pretty much de rigueur in modern stadium design. You have the club which acts as a centrepiece and you use it as a draw for a commercial operation which generates money not just one matchdays but all year round.
“I think one of the long-term plays that we have seen in the US with this kind of model is a sort of flywheel operation whereby team itself might not have massive profit margins but you use the wider commercial revenue to reinvest to the benefit of the whole business.
“Leeds have the same idea, it seems. The 49ers are stadium experts and, more broadly, infrastructure and real-estate experts. They have made a big deal out of the plans for the stadium when they have made pitches to investors. What they do with Elland Road is clearly going to define the rest of their time there, as well as their exit strategy.
“As part of that, I’m sure they would love to have more of a bricks-and-mortar presence in the city centre or at least somewhere that is easily accessible from it. They have talked about getting light rail out to Elland Road before. They are buying more land around the existing site too, but it’s a question of how extensively they can develop it.”
How much bigger Elland Road could be than the Hill Dickinson Stadium
Premier League football already means a significant increase in revenue for Leeds but the 49ers plan to put plenty of that cash into redeveloping Elland Road into one of English football’s largest stadiums.
The plans are to take Elland Road’s capacity from 37,792 to closer to 56,000. That would outstrip Everton following their move away from Goodison Park.
| Stadium | Capacity |
| Old Trafford | 74,310 |
| Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 62,850 |
| The London Stadium | 62,500 |
| Anfield | 61,276 |
| The Emirates | 60,704 |
| Elland Road | c56,500 |
| The Etihad | 53,400 |
| Hill Dickinson Stadium | 52,888 |
| St. James’ Park | 52,305 |
| The Stadium of Light | 49,000 |
Notably, perhaps, is how far they are both going to outstrip Chelsea and Aston Villa by the time completion is finalised. The pair are between 40,000 and 43,000 in terms of capacity.
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