After what seems like years of speculation, Leeds United have finally outlined their plan to expand Elland Road. The clubs key ambitions are to modernise the stadium, bringing capacity up from 37,645 to around 53,000 seats via expanded North and West Stands. The increase in general admission seating would make Elland Road the seventh largest club stadium in the country with other improvements bringing the ground in line with UEFA Category 4 status, to be amongst the elite in European stadia.
A budget of £10 million has already been set aside for the design and planning stages of the redevelopment with an expert team combining global stadium experience with local specialist knowledge assembled to already deliver artist’s impressions and planning submission. This team includes structural engineers Buro Happold who have worked on Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Everton’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock. Perhaps the most important partner at this stage of the project are architects KSS.
KSS are one of the world’s leading sports stadia architects having worked on internal design at stadiums such as Wembley, Twickenham and Stamford Bridge and architectural design on stadiums such as the American Express Stadium, No.1 Court Wimbledon and Estadio Cidade de Coimbra. Perhaps their most relevant recent project is the recent redevelopment of Anfield’s Main and Anfield Road stands for Liverpool FC.
Working in an even tighter plot than Elland Road offers, the extension of the Main stand at Anfield, saw capacity increase by nearly 13,000 seats, making it one of the largest all-seater single stands in European football. Further development to the Anfield Road stand saw capacity increase by a further 7,000 seats to over 61,000. Whilst the proposed increase of Elland Road is 5,000 seats less, the redevelopments at Anfield show how the expansion could be achieved at Elland Road.
To achieve the desired capacity of just over 15,000, both stands would need to be expanded significantly. The West Stand could see an increase of circa 10,000 to over 20,000 seats, bigger than even the East Stand when originally built. Likewise the North Stand would need a significant increase, with potentially 6,000 new seats taking it up to 12,500 seats. Although slightly bigger, the new stands at Anfield are of a similar scale to what will be required at Elland Road and exist in a similar urban setting which could influence the design aesthetic.
Personally, I think they have done a great job with Anfield, the new stands blending in with the old and the terraces surrounding them whilst also looking modern and fresh. But the biggest concern for Leeds fans, will of course be retaining that special Elland Road atmosphere. How will the Revie sound after it’s been expanded? The 49ers have brought in specialist acoustic consultants to ensure Elland Road’s unique atmosphere is retained, and with another 5,500 voices, that Gelderd Roar could be even more special!
