Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe has been tight-lipped on any prospective San Francisco 49ers takeover of Rangers.
Rangers have ‘agreed the outline of a takeover deal’ with a US consortium backed by the investment wing of the NFL giants and healthcare mogul Andrew Cavanagh.
There is real excitement about the possibilities this fresh investment could bring to Rangers with Marathe giving little away when grilled on takeover speculation.
But whilst investment is needed to bring Rangers up to speed on the pitch, comments about expanding Leeds United’s Elland Road might raise some excitement at Ibrox off it.
Paraag Marathe on Leeds United stadium expansion
Paraag Marathe led the £170m San Francisco 49ers takeover of Leeds United last year and is the driving force behind the club’s Premier League charge.
Marathe is also a key player in those Rangers talks and has been clear that the US consortium are looking to add clubs to their stable who can ‘replicate the passion’ on show in Yorkshire.
With Red Bull also coming on board at Leeds United, it’s exciting times for the Elland Road faithful with the Whites something of a sleeping giant in English football.
But with big ambitions on the park, Marathe has confirmed that Leeds are following suit off the pitch with big plans to expand Elland Road.
The US businessman was speaking as part of the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit and is quoted here by TalkSPORT journalist Ben Jacobs.
”Our goal is to expand Elland Road,” Marathe explains, with the stadium’s current capacity close to 38k.
”There will probably be a couple of phases that ultimately take us to 53,000. The first phase will likely be 47,000 then up to 53,000.”
With such heady ambitions come huge responsibilities with the atmosphere at Leeds United’s Elland Road amongst the most passionate in the country.
Marathe insists that any expansion will be done with this in mind to ensure everyone at the club continues Marching on Together.
“Of paramount importance is to keep the cauldron and electricity of the stadium the same as it is today,” said Marathe.
“Elland Road is a stadium managers and players of other clubs don’t like playing at. It’s been called a cauldron and a hurricane of noise.
“It is really important for us to get more of our supporters into the stadium, and make it even more difficult for other clubs to come and play in, but we want to preserve some of the magic of what Elland Road is.
“We have done a lot of the pre-development work, in picking architects and working with the local council. There are probably some announcements to come and I am really excited about that.”
£50m Rangers dream to raise capacity to over 70k
Paraag Marathe’s comments should be of particular excitement to Rangers fans because of recent plans to expand Ibrox Stadium.
Rangers had good intentions when they sought to increase disabled spaces and redevelop the Copland Front stand this summer but the plans backfired.
The Gers eventually had to move to Hampden but there was an eventual pay-off with the club increasing disabled spaces for fans and the stadium’s capacity to 51,700 seats.
But Rangers have big plans to expand the ground even further with former Rangers CEO James Bisgrove confirming discussions at a fan’s forum back in November 2023, as reported by the Herald.
The ambitious expansion plans – which could see Ibrox increased to a near 70k capacity – involve removing the jumbo screens in the stadium’s corners and lowering the pitch.
This could see between 8k-10k added to both the Copland and Broomloan Stands, bringing the famous stadium’s capacity to between 68,000 and 72,000 seats.
On the higher end, according to the National it’s predicted this expansion could cost up to £50m.
Interim Rangers chairman John Gilligan was apprehensive to suggest redevelopment works could take place ahead of this summer whilst speaking at a Fan Advisory Board Meeting in October.
This is after the tangible impact the relocation to Hampden has had on Rangers’ Champions League qualification ambitions at the start of this season.
As reported by the Scottish Sun, Rangers have suggested that there could also be problems lowering the pitch due to ‘immediate issues with the water table’.
But what’s important is that stadium expansion is on the agenda at Rangers and with Paraag Marathe being proactive at Leeds United, perhaps it’s something to watch at Ibrox.
