Following FaxMan’s update on What Ken Said about the East Stand development, we at The Square Ball checked the Leeds City Council website to see if we could find any more information about just what works are being done to the ‘magnificent, new’ (circa 1993) East Stand. Lo and behold, a whole new batch of images were uploaded just this last Monday, and so we now present the most useful of them for your perusal. Click on the thumbnails for a bigger view.
The works, leading one day to Bates’ Motel, are to be done in five phases, of which the introduction of a second tier of boxes to the East Stand is only the first. The list of phases (without any hint of a timeline) can be seen in the images below:
These cutaway images show the full scheme with all five phases completed, and give the clearest hint of the internal changes and how the East Stand will look from inside the ground:
For now, with phase one complete, the outside of the East Stand will look like this:
But eventually, the East Stand will look like this:
Here is the view of what is now the site of Billy’s Statue:
And here’s a view from inside the new arcade:
Bates and Harvey complained recently to the press about Leeds Council being unwilling to pay for the realignment of Lowfields Road, claiming it was part of Leeds Council’s regeneration plans for the area; but as the phased process described above and the map below show, the Lowfields Road needs to be moved mainly to accommodate the hotel and arcade:
The plans for Lowfields Road don’t end there, as this ‘masterplan’ shows potential new retail buildings opposite the East Stand. Note also that the new location for Billy’s Statue, which has always been described as ‘temporary,’ seems to be permanent:
Finally, here’s a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to who owns what down Elland Road way:
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47 Responses to East Stand Development: In Pictures
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It looks like a giant costa coffee
For fucks sake chelsea village has landed in leeds what about the rest of the fucking ground or hows this for an idea invest in the bleeding team!!
It looks grotesque.
Presumably there’s still a football ground hidden somewhere behind all that shite?
Yes..i think i can just about make out a sign that says Leeds United.
Am I being naive or can I fail to spot where the new entrances/ turnstiles to the East Stand are??
Also, this will clearly take around 3-4 years for completion. During this, are we to presume that the 3 other sides of our ground receive no new investment; a paint job at best?
would not the money be better spent on new players after all we still have a better ground than most premier clubs we can,t move forward without a better squad most fans agree we are in urgent need of a rail station close to the ground there is plenty of room off the west stand car park to ease traffic choas on match days leaving elland rd towards the white rose centre we pay enough year on year for facilitys we dont use why not consult the loyal fans for a change without us there would,nt be leeds utd football club
Well, would the money be better spent on new players?
Michael Bridges cost us £5million and after a brilliant start to his stay, he spent years constantly injured and costing us money before being released on a free at the end of his contract. Now he plays in the Australian A-League following a stay with League One Carlisle.
Lubomir Michalik cost us £500,000 and after about a season of first-team starts he was quickly dropped and he completely failed to regain his confidence. He was then farmed out to Carlisle which got him off our wage-sheet.
We’ve made some great, cheap signings too. But don’t forget the expensive failures. Compare that to what granted is a pretty ugly building. The host of non-football-related crap will bring in a steady and predictable income and will make the Elland Road site itself worth more. That helps the club who will have a largely steady base of income and Mr. Bates who I’d imagine would love to scarper as soon as we’re into the Premiership and he can make a big pile of dosh. Of course, if he doesn’t buy back Elland Road relatively soon we’ll end up having invested more cash into a property that will then cost more to buy back… Coincidence?
Cant understand why we didnt do this while in League 1, Now were in the Championship top 6 all season with a possible chance of promotion into the Premiership & were gonna close off the top tier of the East Stand wht not look across the pitch & re-develope the John Charles Stand, I taught that was next on the hit list!!
I know Leeds halcyon days were the 60′s & 70′s but is there a reason we need to change the most modern stand in the stadium to look like it was built in that era? I have no real problem updating the ground but why not start with the dilapidated West Stand. Also looking at the plans there is a huge hotel car park why not build Bates folly there and have underground parking. I also still don’t understand why we would want to redevelop a facility we don’t own. Pity we can’t afford the same level investment in the playing squad and have to settle for castoff’s!
Hi Can we not spend the money to buy the ground and training ground back as the players are the only thing the club owns
what a complete waste of time and money!! does bates and his cronies acctually know what they are doing? this money should have been invested in the squad, the general public of leeds dont want this they want to see results on the pitch not in the car park!!!
What a joke. It doesn’t even look like a football ground. The most iconic view of elland road will disappear, every other stand which is in more desperate need of attention will be overlooked and we will be spending even less on players than we are now (is that possible?!).
Oh, and I’d really like to see it re drawn with 10,000 half cut leeds fans not 12 “happy couples”!
Not impressed!
what a complete waste of money when the rest of the ground needs tidying up and if we do get promotion how are people going to access the hotel on matchdays with crowds of nearly 40000.any money bates has should be invested in quality players not loan players other clubs want off the wage bill.keep the faith…
OH MY GOD!! Its hideous!!!! You can barely see the LUFC sign! and I think owning the ground first would be a better idea!!!
I have to back Bates on this one – come on, it’s rare he wastes money, so sure this will generate more revenues for the club.
This is a ‘quick win’, in case we are back in the Prem next season, meaning we’ll be much better placed to cash in on all the coroporate sales etc.
Furthermore, rebuilding the West Stand will put it, and importantly the Banqueting Suite out of action for the best part of a season. So what he is doing here will mean that as and when that happens, then we’ve got corporate facilities in the East Stand to cope.
I would imagine a new West Stand is top of Ken’s wish list, but this development is required first, to put us in a position to cope without the West Stand. Furthermore until we have the cash from the Premiership, it is doubtless all we can afford to do right now.
And let’s face it, it’s more investment than Ridsdale ever made in the stadium, and that was during the good times. Some cash spent on our stadium at last!
Well done Ken.
Hideous, Grotesque, Heinous. Looks like what it is a cross between a hotel a shopping centre and a football ground. With the football ground coming in a poor third.
This is all about additional ( but misguided ) revenue streams for Bates, but at the expense of all things that are “football”. Who is going to stay in a hotel next to a football ground in Beeston, when other better and probably “cheaper” hotels exist closer to the city center. It will certainly not be Leeds fans, as it is obvious they disagree with the proposed “development” and not other visitors to the city as this will be seen as “generating income to help Leeds United”.
The easy way of massively increasing income would be to invest adequately in team building to ensure an immediate return to the Premier League ( ie QPR ) and then see the cash flow in from gates receipts, sponsorship, Prem Lesgue tv deals, merchandising, etc…… After maximizing these “income streams”, then look at additional schemes such as the “Leeds Bates Village”.
Agree to a point – Phase 1 looks like an excellent move – top class facilities without having to fund a brand new stand. Like it or not – modern PL football demands this. I guess the difficult bit is striking the right balance between investment on and off the pitch – if we go up in the next couple of seasons – genuius – if not…
I dont agree with the hotel though – as others have said – it destroys the iconic look of the stand and is surely a big risk re profit?
Does anyone know the post “first phase” overall ground capacity ? It appears to me that even if the boxes are removed from the south stand to compensate the loss of seats in the east stand, the ground capacity will still be reduced…… Even if we get promoted and fill the ground every week I don’t think this will bother Bates if it lines his pockets more financially !
leeds_lad – did you ask the same question on the other post about the capacity? We answered it earlier, but in cased you missed it (it’s hard to follow across two threads!) here’s what we know:
39,460-1,560 = 37,900
Not seen anything specific about the reintroduction of seats to the South Stand, but it has been said that that’s the plan.
I for one am up for any investment into the club, players & facilities. Ken has two options….Invest money and make improvements for the future (whether he is involved or not), or invest nothing, sell up in year or two, make a small profit and run for Monaco (leaving the ground falling down with no future).
Well done Ken….We do realise we are in a better position than when you came in and saved us several years ago.
When us Yorkshire men says ‘you’ve done alright’, it means you have actually been bloody fantastic!
Keep up the good work, and let the building works begin!
Different Leedslad there TSB!!!
And totally agree with Jay!
Is this a joke ? It looks fucking horrible.
What about the west stand its been there since 57 and needs more than a lick of paint.
I wont be setting foot in your travel tavern bates as it signifies YOU.
“I know how to make them like it stick one of their old players names on it THE STRANDLI SUITE that should keep the fuckers quiet”
The ‘other’ Leeds_lad asked who will stay in the hotel? Plenty will. Clearly it won’t struggle the day before and after a match, thats for sure. Then there’s the various functions/conferences and events that are held at the ground, that’ll fill the hotel on some other nights. Finally, in Beeston it may be, but also free parking, with fast access to both the biggest city in the North and the major motorways – ideal for travelling business people. If the Village Hotel in Morley can do OK, then so can this one.
Part of the problem of the Ridsdale era was putting all the money into the football side, without earning it on the business side! As I said above, this stage is vital before we can even think about a new West Stand!
Just a note about what the Planning Statement from 2008 says about the hotel:
So, much as we don’t know who would be paying for the hotel, we can’t really be certain about who will profit from it, either.
I want to say “Spend it on players” etc. but I know and Ken knows this is a better idea in the long term. Just a shame the stadium looks 2nd to the hotel. At least put a Leeds badge on it. Give it the United look.
Think I nailed it when I dubbed this ‘Project Meccano’. Feel free to use that Dan, Moscow et al.
Well, at least we know where the Arsenal FA cup revenue is going!
We do Gezinho. Unfortunately that (publically anyway) went into funding the loan of McCartney.
I’d like a refund.
I see the Fans lose out on the Car Park opposite the South Stand too. Where then are all those cars going to go? I want a modern fit-for-purpose stadium, but the long suffering fans have to be looked after too!
Wow. So not only did he ‘save’ Leeds United, work for them for free despite owning not one share, but he’s also building hotels on a ground he doesn’t own? And, despite all this, new applicant children’s season tickets will be only 300 next year, a mere 190 more than the divisional average. What a saint!
I have to agree we need to improve facilities for revenue generation, not necessarily at the expense of the playing staff, but think what we could have built for a Brolin, or Seth Johnson.
Am I alone in thinking that our “Online Superstore” looks like it was knocked up on a 12 year old’s laptop. There must be hundreds, nay thousands of fans who have this pitiful resource as the only means of acquiring club colours and merchandise.
Where is the the Billy bremner statue going
On the plans it is shown as being moved to the other side of the road, opposite the East Stand main entrance.
What do we need a hotel for alright re-develop the east stand knock the west stand down and rebuild it apart from that leave everything alone.
[...] is ultimately what we all want, isn’t it? I don’t pay my season ticket to admire some boxes in the East Stand, nor do I pay my season ticket to have the ability to listen to Yorkshire Radio. Whilst I can [...]
Maybe we should look from outside of the box… Maybe its been done to make Leeds United look more attractive to someone looking to buy us out… If we have all these facilities that can make us money every day of the week, then a Sheikh or an Arab will know that there is money being made, he can then plough £100 million into our transfer kitty… Yes its not helping the team out at the minute but It will make us lots of money in the long run, and raise Leeds United’s value… which to be fair is all Ken Bates wants.
MOT!
We all may not agree on the development of the east stand but surely eveyone can agree that whether you are unemployed or a big compamy director we all need money coming in before you can spend it. I myself say’s ken will probably sell us when he makes enough cash if its works out that the club is then financially better off does it matter who owns the club. This development means an income all year round the rest of the ground needs alot of work aswell but we all know rome wasnt built in a day look at the ridsdale era we spent money we didnt have and had to sell players to survive and still had debt you cannot plough money into the team when players come and go so easily look at the bigger prem clubs rich owners at the moment we have to develop what we have and keep money coming in and not going out just hope it works but at the end of the day we have a football club without debt well done ken keep up the good work and keep us afloat.
BATES OUT
So the big man does it again !
How would a manc feel about Mr B not putting any money in the team, Great eh.
Me thinks we need bates out bad. He not saved us from nowt only his pocket is better off.
Whats wrong with the east stand its the best bit of the ground. He needs to build up the west fast.
Me thinks …….Ken should go for the look of his old club ohhhhhh he has thing is he did nowt for chelsea only got them into debt then sold the club (lucky) my fish have more of an idea than that t..t.
Ken if you read this F–k OFF
People might hate bates but wen the club starts earning money and we become a top club again due 2 his work then u wil realise what he is doin is good.. he did turn chelsea from nothin in2 a big club.. he might be a money grabbing cunt but that says it all, he’s not doin this 2 loose money
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