Back in 2017, Sheffield United applied for planning permission to add 5,400 seats to the South Stand at Bramall Lane.
The stand, which currently seats 7,500 fans, would if the scheme goes ahead, seat just under 13,000. Like the recently extended Main Stand at Anfield, Liverpool, this would be achieved by building behind and above the existing stand, adding an additional tier.
An artist's impression of the proposed south stand
Image courtesy of Sheffield United FC & Whittam Cox Architects
Why has progress been so slow?
Despite the plans being submitted seven years ago, construction work is yet to begin. In the meantime, the club have also submitted plans to add more seats to the Kop Stand behind both goals. If both plans ever come to fruition, then the capacity at Bramall Lane will go beyond the 40,000 mark.
The latest update from the club in relation to the expansion plans is that they have updated both planning applications to keep the permissions alive, so there is still clearly an appetite to get the stadium expanded.
Initially, the club became very serious about their plans to expand Bramall Lane whilst the Blades were in the Premier League. However, after the team were relegated back to the Championship at the end of the 2023/24 season, the project became much harder to plan financially.
There was also a US-consortium-led takeover in December 2024, which, while likely to strengthen the future of the club in the long term, made it nearly impossible for Sheffield United to proceed with their expansion in the short term.
Sheffield United stadium expansion timeline
May 2025 update
After the club's US takeover was completed at the end of 2024, many supporters believed that the news would be the catalyst this project needed to really start to gain serious momentum. But, almost six months later, there have been few to no new developments in this regard.
However, with the Blades finishing in a play-off spot in the Championship, a return to the Premier League could well see that change.
While there have been no recent words from the club to suggest that will be the case, the new owners have previously expressed their desire to continue to drive the Blades forward, and expanding Bramall Lane would certainly do that.
August 2024 update
Pushing forward with the Bramall Lane expansion plans relies on the takeover of the club by a US-based group being finalised. On 22nd August, it was announced that they had already submitted documents to the EFL, which are currently being assessed, according to the Sheffield Star. One of the known members of the consortium so far is Tom Page, a businessman who was born in Wolverhampton and now lives in California.
The Sheffield Star added: “Stephen Bettis, the current United chief executive, is understood to have been heavily involved in the takeover deal and has impressed the would-be new owners during the process.”
It is understood that Bettis will play an important role in pushing ahead with the stadium plans if the new owners are ratified due to his part in drawing up the original stadium project.
On the pitch, Sheffield United have started their 2024/25 Championship campaign with one win and a draw, but have already been deducted two points for “defaulting on payments”.