Keith Wyness issues Elland Road warning to Leeds United | OneFootball

Wyness believes Angus Kinnear is facing some difficult issues in the short term involving Leeds' home ground.

Keith Wyness believes Leeds United would only be providing a short-term solution to a problem they have if they increased their hospitality offerings at Elland Road.

The former Everton CEO, speaking on Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, also believes it could cause friction between the club and the Whites' fanbase if an increased focus on hospitality reduces the number of seats available in non-corporate areas.

Demand for tickets has been extremely high, with more than 20,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets.

With this waiting list in mind, a new stadium may need to be built, or Elland Road may need to be expanded to cope with the demand for tickets.

This demand comes as no surprise, because Leeds have been a much more exciting club to support since the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa.

Bielsa may not have been able to lead the West Yorkshire side to promotion at the end of his first season in charge, but he was able to guide the Whites to a Premier League return in 2020.

They enjoyed a three-year stay at the top level before their relegation back to the Championship.

Relegation was bitterly disappointing, and so was their play-off final defeat against Southampton in May this year, but they enjoyed an exciting 2023/24 campaign.

Daniel Farke's side did end up losing some of their key players during the summer window, but having brought in some exciting additions to replace these former first-teamers, they are in a good position to push for promotion again.

Keith Wyness sends warning to Leeds United

To increase revenue, Leeds could increase their hospitality offerings, but Wyness has warned that many fans will react negatively to this if this ends up taking seats away from non-corporate areas.

He said: "It’s a sticking plaster (increasing hospitality offerings) for a real problem at Leeds.

"Elland Road is a good stadium but it’s a tired, old stadium – much like Everton’s Goodison Park.

"I can imagine Angus Kinnear is tearing his hair out because they’re in the Championship, where you can’t really justify putting in a long-term stadium plan.

"You’ve got to try and get revenue in through short-term fixes in areas.

"I think it will cause a problem in the Leeds fanbase.

"They see the queues for season tickets, but will also see the reduction in spaces available if more corporate areas come in.

Leeds United have a tricky dilemma

The Whites will want to increase their revenue - and increased revenue could help them to continue abiding by financial rules.

But thinking long term, Leeds will want to keep fans onside, including those who are currently on the waiting list for a season ticket.

With this in mind, they shouldn't be looking to increase the corporate area at the expense of other fans.

Not only will this be important in terms of keeping fans onside, but sensible ticket prices will also be vital.