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Leeds also have stadium plans that would benefit from public funding

The US owners of newly promoted Leeds United, 49ers Enterprises, are also planning significant work to add 20,000 additional seats to the team’s Elland Road stadium, which has a current capacity of just under 38,000.

The Yorkshire club’s ownership group also includes Peter Lowy, part of the family that controls Australian real estate group Westfields. Leeds chair Paraag Marathe told the Financial Times that the club has “acquired options” on several plots of land adjacent to the stadium with an eye to future development, but points to transport bottlenecks similar to those in Birmingham.

 “There’s totally an opportunity to redevelop [the area] because as the crow flies, Elland Road is really close to the city centre,” he told the Pink ‘Un. “[But] it’s complicated to get to — that’s why there’s been a two-decade long effort to get light rail out there. And so we’re still trying to fast track that as well. But there’s just so much opportunity.”

Cities outside London have long struggled to attract the public funding needed for such infrastructure. As a result, the prospects for many stadium-led regeneration projects will partly hinge on lobbying by metro mayors before the impending spending review.

What is clear is that there are many demands on tight public funds and the Treasury may not look favourably on football related projects.
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