Leeds chairman reveals plans to extend Elland Road capacity to 53,000

A general view of Elland Road, home of Leeds United, ahead of the Premier League match between Leeds United and Arsenal FC at Elland Road on October 16, 2022 in Leeds, United Kingdom.
A general view of Elland Road (Image credit: Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Leeds United are flying in the Championship and look set for a return to the Premier League following a two-year absence.

They've racked up an impressive 75 points in 34 games and with 12 games to go they'll be aiming to break 100 points, and potentially set a Championship record, which is currently 106, set by Reading in 2006.

Talks of an expansion to Elland Road have rumbled on for years, but the possibility now looks closer to reality following comments from the club chairman.

'Announcements to come" on expanding capacity of Elland Road

Ao Tanaka of Leeds

Ao Tanaka scored a vital goal against Sheffield United (Image credit: Getty Images)

Elland Road, which ranked at No.16 in FourFourTwo's list of the best football stadiums in Britain, has been the home of Leeds for their entire history, with a current capacity of 37,792, making it the 19th biggest stadium in the country

The record attendance is set at 57,892 and happened 15 March 1967 in a FA Cup fifth round replay against Sunderland.

Elland Road, Leeds, April 2024

Elland Road, Leeds, April 2024 (Image credit: Alamy)

Paraag Marathe, chairman of Leeds, revealed at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit that there are plans to increase the capacity of Elland Road up to 53,000

Via Ben Jacobs, Marathe said: "Our goal is to expand Elland Road. There will probably be a couple of phases that ultimately take us to 53,000.

"The first phase will likely be 47,000 then up to 53,000.

"Of paramount importance is to keep the cauldron and electricity of the stadium the same as it is today. Elland Road is a stadium managers and players of other clubs don't like playing at.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink celebrates after scoring for Leeds United against Blackburn Rovers, 1998

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink celebrates after scoring for Leeds United against Blackburn Rovers, 1998 (Image credit: Alamy)

"It's been called a cauldron and a hurricane of noise. It is really important for us to get more of our supporters into the stadium, and make it even more difficult for other clubs to come and play in, but we want to preserve some of the magic of what Elland Road is.

"We have done a lot of the pre-development work, in picking architects and working with the local council. There are probably some announcements to come and I am really excited about that."

It would take the stadium into the top 15 biggest in the country, something the club certainly commands.

The Damned United

The Damned United used Elland road in 2009 to replicate the feel of Elland Road in the 1970s... (Image credit: Getty Images)

Elland Road desperately needs it. In order to recreate the feel of 1970s Leeds United for The Damned United, they filmed… at modern-day Leeds United.

Expanding the capacity rather than building a new stadium is certainly the right choice, in FourFourTwo's opinion. Stadium's are important piece of club culture, with fans attaching memories to places, and while new stadiums look fantastic, nothing can quite capture the atmosphere of a stadium that is decades old.

Ewan Gennery
Freelance writer

Ewan is a freelance writer and social media manager who has worked for The Athletic, GOAL, 90min and OneFootball. From Gelsenkirchen to Riyadh, he has covered some of the biggest games in football in his three years in the industry.