Could floodlight towers make a return to Elland Road?

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YorkshireSquare
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Could floodlight towers make a return to Elland Road?

Post by YorkshireSquare »


When I was a young lad following Leeds United there were four bright white diamonds lighting the skyline, leading fans from across the city to Beeston on their pilgrimage to watch the might Leeds United. The four diamond floodlights stood proud atop their giant towers from 1973 (Well three of them did, the South East was erected in 1978) shining bright over the Elland Road pitch. They were our claim to fame, costing £50,000 and at 79.2m they were the tallest in Europe.

Each tower weighed twenty tonnes and held 55 100 kilowatt triple halidine lamps. The bulbs alone weighed two tonnes and each one produces as much heat as a two bar electric fire. They were relatively short-lived though, lasting only twenty years, as construction of the new 17,000 seater East Stand in 1993 lead to their removal. First on the east side of the ground then with the final pair on the west side of the ground removed ahead of the 1993-94 season. Since then the floodlights have been mounted on the stadium roof, far more practical but much more boring.

But with a potential return to the Premier League Leeds United will have to improve certain aspects of Elland Road in order to meet requirements. As part of those preparations a planning application has been submitted for plans first drawn up in 2017, to install two new 44m feature LED lighting columns behind the West Stand in order that Leeds United will be able to satisfy the minimum requirements of hosting Premiership football.





So floodlight towers could return to Elland Road. Not quite as impressive or iconic as those diamonds that used to shine bright across the South Leeds sky but it is interesting to see what preparations the club have to make for a potential return to the Premier League.


Floodlight facts courtesy of Jon Howe’s rather brilliant The Only Place for Us, An A-Z History of Elland Road.
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