The Political Economy of Football V2

This evening two of the north’s greatest football clubs meet when Leeds play Newcastle United.  Both represent regional capitals (Manchester is not capital of the whole north).   Even the Everton supporting prime minister had to come to the north-east for the Great North Run. It will be a curious walk to Elland Road for Newcastle United fans on Monday evening. The caged tunnel down which away supporters were funnelled has gone. The Norman Hunter Suite that sat next to the entrance to the visiting section has been demolished. Instead, amid what will probably feel more claustrophobic for the 2,960 supporters from Tyneside, will be the white walls of a building site, housing the cranes, diggers and machinery that have already started the transformation of one of English football’s most atmospheric grounds. That main stand development, which could be finished by 2028 and will increase the capacity of Elland Road to 48,000, is the most visual display of ambitio...

Work on redeveloping Elland Road should give Leeds United a stadium more befitting of a vibrant regional capital and its team.  Construction projects are very reliant on materials and specialists turning up on time, and often they don’t, but the Leeds work has a special plus (see below). My stepdaughter undertook design work on the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium and upgrading a stadium in situ is no easy task.   She more usually works on venues such as airports and they present challenges, but of a different kind.   There are not that many people who specialise in football stadiums. On May 17th, hours after full time in the final home game of last season, the builders moved in at Elland Road. The redevelopment of the John Charles Stand, which will take its capacity from around 8,000 to more than 17,500 seats, was underway, and the clock has been ticking.    The overall capacity will be 53,000 when the work is finished. The Bremner Suite has been b...

It is now or never for the city of Leeds to unlock potentially billions of pounds of investment around Elland Road, according to Leeds United director Peter Lowy. Lowy is one of the most significant shareholders within the 49ers Enterprises ownership at Elland Road. While he keeps some distance from on-pitch or transfer matters, his expertise, after decades at the helm of shopping centre giant Westfield, is in developing the stadium and the land around it. He spoke to  The Athletic  at UKREiiF, a real estate investment and infrastructure forum being held in Leeds this week. Lowy has just been on stage, explaining why he feels a tram system is so important to the city, when he sits down for our interview. While the redevelopment of the stadium has planning permission and will accelerate through the close season, the future of the 30 acres of land around the ground is foremost in Lowy’s mind. He is concerned about the pace at which an agreement on a tram system is being re...

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 s...

Leeds United’s owners will issue around £120million ($160m) worth of new shares in the club ahead of their return to the Premier League. Investors have been told the nine-figure influx will be put towards Elland Road’s redevelopment and this summer’s transfer window. According to sources, who spoke to  The Athletic  under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, senior figures in the ownership group reached out to shareholders in the days after promotion was secured. It was Burnley’s win over Sheffield United on April 21 that sealed the deal for Leeds. While some of the existing investors declined the chance to spend more, the target amount has been reached by others who have been in the ownership group since the 2023 takeover by 49ers Enterprises. With promotion secured and the dream of being back in the Premier League on the horizon, shareholders have sought to give the club its best chance of surviving relegation by stumping up more cash. The money, inve...

Plans to increase Elland Road’s capacity up to 56,500 seats have taken a step forward for Leeds United after two key recommendations were approved by the council. The first recommendation agreed to negotiate the sale of council-owned land behind the stadium’s Don Revie and John Charles stands to the club for the purpose of stadium expansion. United would, in theory, buy the land from the council at an independently valued rate that reflects the wider market. The second recommendation agrees to negotiate and enter into a memorandum of understanding (MoU), a non-binding agreement between two or more parties that outlines their shared understanding and intentions to collaborate with Lowy Family Group (LFG), United’s development partner. This agreement between the council and LFG would see them work together on a regeneration strategy for the council-owned land around Elland Road. These parcels of land include the park and ride adjacent to Fullerton Park, Lowfields Road and the car p...

2023/24 was the first season at Leeds under the ownership of 49ers Enterprises, who assumed full control of the club at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after adding the 56% held by Andrea Radrizzani’s Aser Ventures to their existing 44% minority stake, with Paraag Marathe becoming chairman. Leeds United’s pre-tax loss significantly widened from £34m to £61m, as revenue dropped £62m (33%) from £190m to £128m following relegation, exacerbated by profit from player sales more than halving from £73m to £34m.   This was partly offset by the club cutting expenses by £92m (31%) from £296m to £204m, though net interest payable significantly increased from £1m to £18m. The main driver of Leeds’ £62m revenue decrease was broadcasting, which basically halved in the Championship, falling by £58m from £112m to £54m as “a direct result of relegation from the Premier League”. Commercial income was also down, but only fell £5m (10%) from £48m to £43m.   In contrast, gate receipts actually...

Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe has outlined the club’s plans for the expansion of Elland Road. Leeds announced their intention to expand their stadium in September last year, taking the capacity from 37,645 to 53,000 seats. This would make it the seventh-largest club stadium in England. Marathe, who is also president of 49ers Enterprises, the group that owns Leeds, said that the club are aiming to expand without compromising the existing capacity. “We’ll expand the hospitality and also the GA (general admission), it will be a little bit of everything,” said Marathe, speaking online as part of the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit on Wednesday. “Mostly in the West Stand but then we’ll look at the South and North, too. But we want to do it without compromising seats over the next couple of years, so it’s going to be a bit tricky but that’s our goal and we’re ploughing forward on all fronts.” “What’s of paramount importance is to keep the cauldron and electr...

Leeds United have announced plans to modernise Elland Road and increase the capacity from just under 38,000 to 53,000 to make it the seventh largest ground in the country:  https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/sep/23/leeds-united-plan-to-redevelop-elland-road-into-53000-capacity-football-stadium The ground has been full for every home match played in the last six years.  There are also 26,000 supporters on the waiting list for season tickets. The plans would also see the ground modernised to meet UEFA Category 4 regulations for "elite" European stadia.

A change of ownership is what everything at Elland Road hinges on — and it can be credibly argued that the impasse on that front is a reason why Leeds have stagnated to the point where relegation is nigh. At present, the arrangement in the boardroom is this: Andrea Radrizzani is majority shareholder with slightly more than 50 per cent of the shares. The remainder is held by 49ers Enterprises, a US investment vehicle with close connections to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. Were Leeds to stay up following their season-finale at home to Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, contracts are in place for 49ers Enterprises to buy out Radrizzani for a sum which would value Leeds somewhere between £400 million ($496m) and £500million ($621m). The expectation is that the sale would go through by July 1 at the latest but in effect, the handover would start more rapidly. The investment group behind this 49ers Enterprises project — made up of entrepreneurs, private equity firms, busine...