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Leeds chief Kinnear: Spurs visit convinced us Elland Road needs massive upgrade

Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear admits the board is determined to improve and expand Elland Road.

In the Brighton & Hove Albion programme, the Whites' chief executive wrote about the trip to the capital a fortnight ago when Tottenham Hotspur Stadium blew the United contingent away.

“The visit to Spurs' spectacular new stadium reinforced the infrastructure gap we face between where we are and where we need to be," he said.

“The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium generates five times the revenue of Elland Road each and every matchday and this is a commercial advantage that transfers directly to the pitch.

“We left North London having reinforced our ambition to transform our home to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best stadia in Europe.

“The process will start in the summer with the key technical element, a full reconstruction of the Elland Road playing surface.

“We had intended to do this last summer, but the process takes 14 weeks and so simply couldn't be executed in a close season so dramatically shortened by the pandemic.

“The current Elland Road surface received justifiable criticism last year as the ancient drainage system was unable to deal with the torrential rain we experienced across December."

Kinnear made it clear any criticism should not be levelled at the club's ground staff, whom it is said to have worked wonders to even get the pitch playable.

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