SHOCKING TRAGEDY;Fire outbreak in Elland Road Stadium,leaving hundreds injured

With Leeds fans standing on seats, swinging white scarves above their heads and belting out I Predict A Riot, the unique atmosphere of Elland Road could not have been captured more accurately than the win against Norwich last season that sent the club to the Championship play-off final.

There was joy at the prospect of returning to the Premier League then, but the old stadium can also be a cauldron of hostility – a place visiting teams often find difficult to deal with. Watching the clubs fans get “lairy”, as the lyrics to the Kaiser Chiefs song go, can shrink some opposing players as swiftly as it lifts those wearing all white.

And that will be the task for the club’s owner, American 49ers Enterprises, as it looks to expand and update the 127-year old stadium. Everyone associated with the club, from fans to the board, accept the need to improve the ground, but they do not want it to lose its edge.

Last month, Leeds announced the next phase of their expansion, with proposals to increase capacity by 15,355, which would make it the country’s seventh-largest club ground, with 53,000 seats, “in a stadium that retains the unique atmosphere”, according to Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe.

The stadium has long been on the agenda at the club, before 49ers Enterprises took control, so it was always going to be a project for the new owner to work on. The group built the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, where the San Francisco 49ers Amercan football team have played for the last decade. It has also hosted NFL Super Bowls.

Sleeping giants

So the dream for 49ers Enterprises is to retain the atmosphere while moving with the times. An elite stadium – with prestigious Uefa Category 4-status, making it eligible to host European club football – is the plan. But it is the plan for a Premier League team.