Leicester City King Power Stadium expansion update
Leicester City have been looking to expand the capacity of their King Power stadium for some time. Here is an update on the current situation.
Supporters might remember when around a year ago there was a great amount of hype around the Foxes’ ambitions for upgrading their stadium to host 40,000 people as well as a larger store, an a completely redesigned surrounding area. However, since the green light was given by Leicester City Council, nothing further has been actioned.
Leicester City put expansion on hold
Although there is little information available, the fact we have little information is the most telling part of the story. With zero updates since the plans were given the go-ahead, this means the King Power club are yet to sign a section 106 agreement with the council: that would have meant a legally binding obligation to commence construction along certain plans, with funding then partially provided by the council. Of course, the lack of this is concerning.
However, the situation is not particularly unsurprising. I hate to bring this up – again – but Leicester were just relegated from the top tier of English football into the EFL Championship. There were several impacts that had on the East Midlands club.
Firstly, the most obvious concern is a reduction in financial renumerations from competitions, league positions, broadcasting revenue, and sponsorship losses with FBS. Leicester City are selling a massive number of players, and several left on a free, so a lot of money has been saved in waged and much gained – Wilfred Ndidi seems to be the next one out. However, there is a caveat: we also have to sign a lot of players.
Secondly, demand. When the Foxes were challenging for European competitions on a regular, the expansion made sense: the higher capacity would translate into greater revenue, and the upgraded surroundings would generate revenue on a more consistent basis throughout the calendar year. This was a missing piece of the puzzle which was holding Leicester back.
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Finally, for me I see it as no longer the priority. While we were a comfortable Premier League side, it was the next logical step in the pathway for the Midlands team; however, the priority has shifted towards a comeback to the top tier and retaining that position. That is it now, get promoted and stay there. So the expansion will probably be delayed by a couple seasons until we are comfortable again.