The expansion of Elland Road is high on the agenda of important matters for Leeds United’s hierarchy and the 49ers.
The 49ers and Daniel Farke are looking to build the Leeds United squad to ensure the club have a strong chance of survival in the Premier League in 2025/26, but that also means a foundation for their future.
Elland Road is the key to that in the long-term, given the revenue it has the potential to generate on matchdays but also in hosting other major events for the city of Leeds.
Premier League football means a massive increase in revenue already but the 49ers plan to use a lot of cash on redeveloping Elland Road into one of English football’s largest stadiums.
Leeds United v Brentford FC - Premier League
Photo by Richard Sellers/Getty Images
Phil Hay’s tongue in cheek post regarding Elland Road’s expansion
Elland Road’s music running order has changed already but there are far bigger changes in store. It doesn’t just mean significantly expanding Elland Road’s capacity, but also redeveloping aspects of the stadium and surrounding areas.
That should improve the matchday experience, including a multi-storey car park and tram links at Elland Road to go alongside a number of other renovations in and around the ground.
Leeds City Council has agreed to negotiate a sale of land, while the 49ers have already announced plans to take Elland Road’s capacity from 37,792 to closer to 56,500.
Leeds’ redevelopment plans are firmly in place but a final decision on Elland Road is imminent in the coming weeks and months, with final details yet to be finalised or altered.
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
The public consultation process for Leeds United's Elland Road redevelopment planning application ends Friday.
Club seeking more feedback before the deadline. Close to 700 comments so far.#lufc https://t.co/7OhqUuDzoV
— Graham Smyth (@GrahamSmyth) August 6, 2025
View Tweet
As explained by Graham Smyth, the public consultation process for Leeds’ Elland Road redevelopment planning application ends today. The club have been seeking more feedback before the deadline with close to 700 comments so far.
Phil Hay covered Leeds for many years and could be regularly seen in the press box as one of the leading writers for The Yorkshire Evening Post and for The Athletic. He has had his say ahead of the deadline.
He has taken to Twitter/X to post the update of what he wants to see at Elland Road. It’s very tongue in cheek but will invoke memories of the era of him covering a club in a much worse state than it is now.
He posted a picture of an old telephone with the caption “Be disappointed if the new Elland Road West Stand press box doesn’t include a 1990s landline phone. Get your requests in here.”
Aerial View Of Elland Road Stadium
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
How Elland Road will rank against other top English stadiums
Once plans to redevelop Elland Road are completed, it would have Leeds back among the English elite and with a larger stadium than some huge English footballing names.
It is a long time since Leeds have been competing at the top, with the one exception their first season back in the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa.
However, this would sustainably help them stay there. Here is how they will rank against the other big club stadiums in England.
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 would outstrip Chelsea and Aston Villa by the time completion is finalised. The Pair are between 40,000 and 43,000.