Starting With Real Madrid

The land that had been abandoned for many years and overgrown with weeds was cleared and leveled, and the messy warehouses and scrapyards were cleaned up.

Green barbed-wire fencing was erected on the small mounds beside the surrounding highway, blending with the rows of tall trees that often stood 20 to 30 meters high.

In the future, Leeds United will invest to create a mixed green belt of trees, shrubs, and grass around the training base, which will both beautify the grounds and protect its privacy.

After exiting the M621 motorway, head north around the Elland Road roundabout and enter the main road of Leeds.

Construction fences have been erected on both sides of the road.

Not far ahead, the eye-catching construction gate comes into view.

At this moment, both sides of the gate are filled with vehicles. Many guests, fans, TV stations, and media reporters have gathered, set up their cameras, and are filming this project that Leeds fans and countless supporters worldwide are looking forward to.

When the Mayor of Leeds, Leeds United chairwoman Su Qing, CEO Fernando Lucas, and the European general manager of a Chinese construction company laid the foundation stone for Leeds United's new training base amid salutes, warm applause broke out at the scene.

Gao Shen stood in the front row, side by side with chief designer Norman Foster, applauding the groundbreaking ceremony.

Driven by Gao Shen and Leeds United, this project attracted the attention of countless fans and media even before it began.

Coupled with Leeds United's outstanding performance last season, all of this made the project a hot topic.

The total budget of the project is as high as 80 million pounds, making it the most luxurious training base ever built.

Part of it is the municipal park at the north end, funded by Leeds City Council and built jointly with Leeds United. After completion, it will connect to the youth team's home ground and training area.

It is an interesting integration.

But Gao Shen was thinking that from the southwest corner of the training base, across the large roundabout, lies Leeds United's Elland Road stadium area.

"What do you think, Norman, if these two areas could be connected as one?" Gao Shen asked suddenly.

"This way to the stadium?"

"Right."

Gao Shen grew more interested as he spoke, but Norman Foster shook his head.

"It is unrealistic."

"Why?"

"I have studied Elland Road carefully and there is little value in expanding or renovating it, especially the West Stand, which is too old. Instead of investing so much money, it would be better to rebuild."

Gao Shen fully agreed.

Many times, the cost of renovating an old stadium is not much cheaper than building a new one. The push to renovate is often about the venue's location and approvals.

For example, Real Madrid's Bernabéu is located in central Madrid. Every inch of land there is precious. It is absolutely impossible for Real Madrid to move.

If you do not leave the Bernabéu and want a new build, its feasibility is very small, because it would be a massive project. It is basically unrealistic in the busiest city center. How much work would demolition alone require?

So Florentino chose renovation.

But Leeds United's situation is different.

The land around Elland Road belongs to the club, and it is quite large.

"I calculated that the area to the east, which now has the Centenary Pavilion, plus the rented warehouse area, combined, is not enough to build a modern football stadium."

"Not enough?" Gao Shen felt that the land seemed substantial.

It is called a centenary pavilion, but it is essentially a bungalow with a tin roof. The warehouse is even older. The roof has been repaired repeatedly because there was no money for proper renovation. It is currently rented to a beer company.

The surrounding area serves as a temporary parking lot on match days.

"I do not need to explain the West and South Stands. They are decades old. They are not worth renovating or expanding, and their seating capacity is too low. If you want to build a new stadium on that land, right next to the Centenary Pavilion, you would have to demolish the East Stand, which has the largest capacity."

Currently, Leeds United's attendance is concentrated mainly in the East Stand, which has been renovated and has a high capacity.

Demolishing that section would not be cost-effective.

Especially considering that once construction of a new stadium begins, it will take three years if all goes well, and four or five years if it does not.

If that happens, Leeds United would lose an untold amount in matchday revenue alone.

"If it were up to me, the initial plan would be to build on the west side of the plot, close to the original railway line. It is currently a temporary parking lot and would be very convenient. It would not even affect the current use of Elland Road."

In other words, by building on the west side, Elland Road could continue to be used until the new stadium is completed.

After Norman Foster said this, Gao Shen remembered something.

One of the important reasons former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates took over Leeds United was that Leeds had a very large commercial plan at the time, namely to renovate the West and South Stands of Elland Road.

On the west side of the stadium lay the club's original training base, which was later moved to the current Thorpe Arch. The original plan was to build Leeds United's largest shopping center there.

Back then, Leeds United conducted a dedicated market survey and found the transport links were excellent. It is adjacent to the M1, connected to the M621, and links to the M62 in the west. Both are major arteries running north and south across the UK.

It can be said this is one of the most convenient locations in Leeds and even all of Yorkshire.

Everyone knows cars are a vital means of transport in the UK. Many shopping centers are in the suburbs because of parking convenience. Therefore, the land around Elland Road has considerable potential, which has not yet been tapped.

There are actually two plots on the south side of the stadium, currently allocated to Leeds United as temporary parking on match days. If all this land were fully utilized, the value would be considerable.

Most importantly, it would have little impact on Leeds' matches.

…

At Leeds United, Su Qing has always been the one to liaise with the Leeds City Council.

After all, she has a ministry background, is efficient and capable, and handles matters in an orderly way. She has opened all the channels, allowing the new training base project to progress very smoothly.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, when Gao Shen met the mayor of Leeds, she did not forget to praise Su Qing, which made Gao Shen very proud. At the same time, he felt he had made the right decision to entrust Leeds United to Su Qing.

According to estimates by the Chinese construction company, the construction period for the training base is about twelve months, which means that at the latest, Leeds United will move in before the start of the 2014 summer training camp.

This is also a very important milestone for Leeds United.

At that time, the first team and academy will move to the new training base, and even the club's administrative departments and data center will be transferred there.

This will become the heart of Leeds United.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Gao Shen hosted a banquet for the construction company's senior management, Norman Foster's team, and Leeds United's core executives, then met with the club's management at Thorpe Arch.

The meeting was mainly to summarize the past season and look ahead to the next.

Gao Shen formally introduced Pochettino to everyone, saying he was very optimistic about Pochettino's coaching at Leeds and believed he had the ability to lead the club in the Premier League and Europa League next season.

Pochettino also promised that he would do his best to lead Leeds United and strive for good results in the new Premier League season.

Gao Shen then focused on the 2013 U20 World Cup in Türkiye.

Many Leeds players would participate, such as Pogba, Kondogbia, and Kurzawa for France, as well as Brozovic for Croatia, Cancelo for Portugal, and Stones, Maguire, and Harry Kane for England.

Sterling was originally of the right age but missed the tournament because he could not get minutes at Manchester City.

This can be regarded as a butterfly effect brought by the changes.

However, in the new season at Leeds United, Sterling will definitely get more opportunities.

Because in Pochettino's plan, Coutinho's position should be in midfield, not on the wing.

His two wide players tend to be faster and more direct.

If Icardi transfers, the team's striker options will consist of Harry Kane, Vardy, and Martial.

Among them, Gao Shen, Rodolfo Borrell, and Leeds United's technical team have always viewed Martial as a center forward, a center forward in the Henry mold.

Gao Shen hopes the scouting team and the data center will pay special attention to the U20 World Cup to see if any emerging talents have slipped through the net.

…

After the meeting, Gao Shen kept several core executives behind and discussed his conversation with Norman Foster.

He noticed everyone's eyes light up.

Everyone present was basically aware of Leeds United's previous plans, which they knew about when acquiring the club.

Now, that plan is outdated, and many parts no longer fit.

For example, there was no large shopping mall in Leeds at that time, but there is one now, on the north bank of the River Aire in the city center, about three kilometers in a straight line from Elland Road.

But this does not mean Leeds United lacks advantages, especially in transport.

If the club can capitalize on that advantage, there is still great potential in its land-use planning.

It is even possible to create a perfect business-stadium combination in Leeds similar to Old Trafford.

Whether in the fans' purchasing power or the size of the fanbase, Leeds United is not much inferior to Manchester United.

This plan is attractive, but the investment would be huge.

Leaving everything else aside, the new stadium alone would require a massive investment, and Elland Road would have to be demolished, the land consolidated, and commercial planning carried out. The total investment would be astronomical.

Leeds United simply cannot afford it at the moment.

At most, they can first consider a new stadium.

And this cannot be rushed. Proper market research and stakeholder groundwork are essential.

Thinking it through, time is still very tight.

"Let us see how the transfers go this summer. If they are successful, we will start studying the new stadium," Gao Shen said, a little impatiently.

Time waits for no one.

He must seize this historic opportunity.

(To be continued.)