Leeds Loses a key player to the transfer windowrKieran Maguire issues verdict on Leeds United blasting £150m on new stadium
Adam Williams
Adam Williams
Mon 9 September 2024 18:30, UK
Leeds United have long harboured ambitions to boost their matchday income but recent developments at Elland Road suggests plans are developing.
The West Yorkshire stadium, Leeds’ home since 1919, currently houses 37,890 spectators and is the biggest stadium by capacity in the EFL.
What On Earth Is Going On At Leeds United?
But Leeds United regularly sell out Elland Road and have one of the longest season ticket waiting list in the country, with over 20,000 fans on standby.
General view inside the stadium prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Southampton FC at Elland Road on May 04, 2024 in L…
Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images
Plans to expand the stadium up to 55,000 have been through various formulations over the years, but relegation to the Championship in 2022-23 mean the project is currently on ice.
Previously, former owner Andrea Radrizzani had said that they would explore expanding Elland Road would be accelerated in their third season in the Premier League.
It is not known if the San Francisco 49ers and, to a lesser extent, new minority owners Red Bull subscribe to the same timeline.
Both parties have far greater liquidity than Radrzzani and, given that infrastructure investment is exempt from PSR, would be less beholden to Premier League status to finance the development.
Significantly, the new ownership regime has announced that Leeds have bought the Elland Road site back from Radrizzani, which would allow them to make structural changes.
And with a few signals in recent weeks stadium development is on the agenda again, TBR Football spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and industry insider Kieran Maguire, who explained what the future might hold for Elland Road, as well as looking at Leeds’ broader finance picture.
READ MORE: £13m player suggests he is still upset by what Leeds United told him during the summer
The 49ers’ Elland Road vision
It was noteworthy that the two most recent boardroom appointments the 49ers have made at Leeds both have property and construction backgrounds.
What’s more, 49ers Enterprises have also given the green-light to a £150m plan to revamp the Levi’s Stadium, the home of their San Francisco NFL franchise.
But Maguire forecasts that Leeds’ own redevelopment plans could exceed that figure.
“£150m doesn’t get you a lot these days in terms of construction,” he observed.
“In relation to Leeds, I suspect 49ers Enterprises will have a greater focus on improving facilities at the higher end of the Elland Road project, in terms of hospitality etc.
“The return on those investments tends to be much higher than offering additional seats to the core fanbase.
“But if there is an opportunity to add a couple of thousand seats, we are probably looking at no more than 3,000 to 4,000 maximum.
“The main focus will be on improving what the club can offer to the corporate sector.
“The prices charged and the ability to increase those prices is much greater than it is for regular season ticket holders.
“If additional tickets are laid on as part of the revamp, I suspect they will go to members as opposed to season ticket holders.
“From an economic point of view, these are the people that are likely to pay higher prices and pay more for merchandise and so on.
“With American owners in particular seeing clubs as entertainment and tourism hubs as opposed to sporting institutions, this is the best way of maximising revenues.”
Latest Red Bull developments
It is not yet known exactly how much equity Red Bull control at Leeds, only that it is a significant minority investment.
However, the Austrian energy drinks giants have been a conspicuous presence at Elland Road since the part-takeover and would likely play a prominent role in a stadium revamp.
Intriguingly, Red Bull have also recently signed a commercial deal with Newcastle.
There are almost no previous examples of owners of one English club giving sponsorship money to another who could be considered a direct rival.
“As far as Newcastle’s relationship with Red Bull is concerned, they are a global brand looking to tie up with other global brands,” said Maguire.
“While we don’t necessarily see clubs from the same country have close commercial deals with the same sponsors, you do often have betting sponsors who are the same across different clubs.
“Organisations such as Emirates are pan-European, for example.
“It is a very different relationship between Newcastle and Red Bull compared to Leeds and Red Bull.
“They simply see this as an opportunity to generate more overseas interest in their products.
“They have the F1 team, of course. They are probably looking at non-UK markets but using Newcastle as a vehicle to access those markets.”
READ MORE: National media left impressed by £900k Leeds United player after goal on international duty
Leeds’ squad value
In a wider financial scope, a recent study from industry experts CIES Football Observatory found that Leeds had the most expensively assembled squad of any second-tier side in world football.
Despite seeing a number of high-profile players exit this summer, CIES show that Leeds paid a total of £130m for the players on their books, rising to £162m with add-ons.
“It’s a sign of the robustness of English football,” said Maguire.
“In particular, Leeds United’s CIES squad valuation exceeds that of Sporting, Ajax, Lazio, Eintracht Frankfurt and so on.
“These are all clubs that have a European history. They are all significant in the top tier of their own domestic leagues.
“That reflects the fact that, although Leeds fans are unhappy with the number of departures in 2024, the residual squad is still so valuable.
A general view of Elland Road prior to the Premier League match between Leeds United and Brentford at Elland Road on December 05, 2021 in Leeds, En…
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
“The fact that they have managed to extract £30-40m for more than one of their players is indicative of the fact that, although things didn’t go well for them in their final season in the Premier League well, they have recruited well on an individual level.
“This also reflects the fact that Leeds are by far the biggest fish in the EFL ponds. They are the destination club for players in the EFL. If they can’t get to the Premier League, Leeds United are as close as they can possibly get.”
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The Leeds United club crest on the first team home shirt on October 1, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom.Photo by Visionhaus
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£13m player suggests he is still upset by what Leeds United told him during the summer
Billy Meyers
Billy Meyers
Mon 9 September 2024 11:45, UK
Leeds United have bounced back well from what was a very challenging summer.
Daniel Farke watched Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter all walk out of Elland Road after the Whites lost the Championship Play-Off final to Southampton, but has reacted impressively with two wins and two draws from four Championship outings so far.
Now – however – there has been a piece of negative news at Leeds United…
Junior Firpo on how Leeds United upset him
Junior Firpo has now suggested that he is still unhappy by Leeds United’s decision to block him from playing for the Dominican Republic at the Olympic Games.
Mundo Deportivo quote the £12.8m man as saying: “It was tough, I tried until the last day but they told me that since I was an important player, one of the leaders and captains, they needed me at the start of the pre-season.
“I was telling them that, for me, it was going to be something unique but it didn’t work out.”
Junior Firpo of Leeds United reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion FC and Leeds United FC at The Hawthorns on A…
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images
The Dominican Republic ended up drawing two and losing one of their three matches at the Olympic Games without Firpo – failing to progress out of the Group Stage.
A 3-1 defeat to eventual champions Spain was sandwiched between a 0-0 draw against Egypt and a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan.
Harsh decision
Of course, Farke wanted Firpo involved throughout pre-season for obvious reasons, as Leeds United have another attempt at winning promotion back to the Premier League this term.
Junior Firpo of Leeds United celebrates at full time during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday FC and Leeds United FC at H…
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
However, as the 28-year-old said himself, it would have been something “unique” and significant for him in his career, so we feel Leeds United should have taken the bigger picture into consideration here.
Hopefully, Firpo has not become too demoralised by the summer decision, and can put 100% of his focus into helping Leeds United return to the Premier League.
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