Leeds director warns expansion is now or ‘never’

Leeds director Peter Lowy has warned the club’s planned expansion of Elland Road must progress this time or he fears it may never materialise.

Plans to redevelop the club’s ground and increase the capacity from 37,645 seats to approximately 53,000 were approved in January by Leeds City Council.

Leeds hope the regeneration can meet demand from supporters, with 26,000 people currently on a waiting list for a season ticket.

Despite past proposals to redevelop Elland Road, there have been no major modifications to the ground since the £5.5m construction of the East Stand in 1993.

Billionaire Australian businessman Lowy is the principle of the Lowy Family Group (LFG) – the family who founded and built Westfield – and a major investor in 49ers Enterprises, who bought Leeds in 2023.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Leeds United podcast ‘Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet’ on BBC Radio Leeds, Lowy said he was keen for the project to move forward.

“Leeds is ready for it,” he said. “If we don’t get it done this time, it will never happen.

Lowy said the “stars are aligned” for the stadium expansion to progress and that stakeholders – including the government – need to deliver on infrastructure projects as part of a “masterplan” for the “regeneration of south Leeds”.

BBC Radio Leeds reported on 20 January that Lowy meet with Chancellor Rachel Reeves to discuss funding a light rail system from Leeds station to White Rose including a stop at Elland Road.

Reeves – who has been the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, formerly Leeds West, since 2010 – said recently the investment from LFG can “create jobs, unlock opportunities and bring more people into the local economy”.

“The football club is managed properly. The football club has the capital to do the expansion,” Lowy said.

“If the government can actually allocate the capital, and build the infrastructure [then] we could raise and invest somewhere between a billion and two billion pounds on that side.

“If we can work with the government and they can move in a reasonable time period for government, we can invest the capital and build.”

Lowy acknowledged building work had yet to begin but said he was “confident we can get there” and was keen to “push” the government.

“We are doing all the pre-work with the city, just like we did on the stadium, for a masterplan for the area, and last week Leeds Council approved a masterplan that we’ve been working with them on,” he added.

“We 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.

Lowy said there have not been any discussions over a new contract for Leeds boss Daniel Farke.

The 49-year-old German was appointed in July 2023 on a four-year deal and guided Leeds back into the Premier League in his second season.

Leeds are currently 15th in the table – six points above the final relegation place – and Lowy said the focus was on survival with “talk about all that stuff [contracts] later”.

“We have not yet stayed in the Premier League,” he added. “We are not yet secured and so we’re not talking about it. It’s like the same thing last year that really bugged me.

“We were on a run-in to win the league or to win the Championship and everyone’s talking about should Daniel be the manager next year or not.

Lowy said Leeds had not been surprised by the impact made by Dominic Calvert-Lewin this season and it was important to “put the club in a position” where the striker “wants to stay”.

Calvert-Lewin, 28, has scored 10 goals in the Premier League for Leeds having joined the club on a free transfer following his release by Everton.

“You see DCL in training, you see him on the pitch, he’s incredibly fit, he’s playing fantastic football. As he got up to fitness you could see it’s just at Everton he didn’t have the platform,” Lowy added.

“But you could see the ability, and the team that we have saw DCL’s ability. We thought the risk was minimal, and the upside was huge.

Considering it was on the morning of an important Premier League clash with Sunderland, Lowy was surprisingly relaxed.

He is an avid supporter who said he still finds seeing the green of the Elland Road pitch magical and how he loves to arrive early and sit in the empty stadium.

He was at ease talking at length about his passion not only for Leeds United but the redevelopment of the stadium and the importance of the government’s support for the mass transit project in helping connect the ground and surrounding area to the city centre.

Lowy revealed £10-£20m has already been committed to improving the ground and how a huge effort is ongoing to regenerate the south Leeds area, which is severely underserved.

He was adamant the club is in a healthy financial position with regards to Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and although it was too early to discuss Farke’s future, he said the manager’s credentials to work effectively in the Premier League were not in question.