Angus Kinnear, Leeds United's chief executive, has admitted 'several million pounds worth of investment' will be required to get Elland Road ready to stage Premier League football.
The club's 16-year top flight exile came to an end last months when Marcelo Bielsa's side romped to the Championship title, ten points ahead of their nearest rivals West Bromwich Albion.
After laying their hands on the trophy and indulging in some well-earned celebrations, Leeds' planning for next season, both on the pitch and off it, is firmly under way.
While the primary objective on the pitch will be adding fresh faces to Marcelo Bielsa's squad, a lot of improvements are going to be required off the pitch as well, particularly to Elland Road itself.
And chief executive Kinnear has outlined just what needs to be done this summer, though the primary objective for him is to get Leeds' supporters back in the stadium as soon as possible.
"There’s several million pounds worth of investment required to get it [Elland Road] up to Premier League standard," said Kinnear. "Those plans are in place.
"Actually our bigger focus is going to be working with the Premier League to get crowds back because that’s been the biggest disappointment, the fans haven’t been in the stadium and been able to enjoy it.
"The real priority is to work with the government and the Premier League to get a phased return of crowds as soon as we can."
In October last year, Leeds announced plans to eventually expand Elland Road to a 50,000-capacity stadium, highlighting just how big the Whites' ambitions are to return to the club's glory days.
Despite a return to the Premier League having now been achieved, owner Andrea Radrizzani has admitted Leeds will have to consolidate themselves as a top-flight club once again before setting the wheels in motion in regards to expanding Elland Road.
Radrizzani said: "We need to confirm ourselves in the Premier League as a priority for two or three years before we can look at an expansion plan in terms of capacity.
"For sure we continue to improve the facilities and we already started that three years ago. We have already renovated many areas of the stadium and also Thorp Arch.
"Thorp Arch has nothing to envy to Cobham in Chelsea. Thorp Arch is definitely one of the best sports training centres in the country, even compared with Premier League clubs today.
"The stadium we have started, we need to continue, but we will look only at capacity increase maybe after two or three years in the Premier League."
