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\t\tLeeds United’s Elland Road is set for a 15,000-seat upgrade\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tWednesday 04 March 2026 9:56 am
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tWednesday 04 March 2026 9:59 am\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tLeeds United’s Elland Road is set for a 15,000-seat upgrade\t<\/p>\n
Leeds United director and Westfield tycoon Peter Lowy has urged government to speed up plans for a multi-billion-pound redevelopment of the city.<\/p>\n
The Premier League club\u2019s American owners, 49ers Enterprises<\/a>, have begun work on expanding Elland Road<\/a> by more than 15,000 seats to a 53,000-capacity stadium.<\/p>\n But they want to make it the centrepiece of a wider urban redevelopment project, including a long-awaited tram line, which Lowy said could see the owners inject up to \u00a32bn.<\/p>\n \u201cThe football club is managed properly. The football club has the capital to do the expansion,\u201d said Australian Lowy, whose family are worth more than \u00a36bn.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the government can actually allocate the capital and build the infrastructure, we could raise and invest somewhere between \u00a31bn and \u00a32bn on that side.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can work with the government and they can move in a reasonable time period for government, we can invest the capital and build.<\/p>\n \u201cLeeds is ready for it. If we don\u2019t get it done this time, it will never happen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does need to be done in a timely manner though because people like myself and the capital that we have won\u2019t sit around for 10 years because we can invest wherever we choose to invest.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tFormer Six Nations stadium to become 50,000-seat football arena<\/a><\/p>\n \tLeeds political class \u2018must get its act together\u2019<\/p>\n Elland Road has not been upgraded since 1993 but 49ers Enterprises have made its expansion a strategic priority since becoming majority owners of Leeds in 2023 in a \u00a3170m deal.<\/p>\n Lowy has personally lobbied Chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a> \u2013 also MP for Leeds West and Pudsey \u2013 over the wider redevelopment and she has spoken favourably about the project.<\/p>\n Birmingham City\u2019s US owners, Knighthead Capital, have embarked on a similar masterplan for England\u2019s second city<\/a>, using a public-private financing model.<\/p>\n West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has backed proposals for a tram that would call at Elland Road but in December it emerged the plan had been delayed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are doing all the pre-work with the city, just like we did on the stadium, for a masterplan for the area,\u201d Lowy told the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week Leeds Council approved a masterplan that we\u2019ve been working with them on.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the ability, if the transportation system is there, to build 2,500 housing units, maybe 200,000 square feet of offices, local retail, fresh food markets.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we need is the political class to get its act together. We don\u2019t get any pushback from government at the moment, but they need to get aligned and get their job done.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n