How a slice of Silicon Valley is taking Leeds United back to the future… Mail Sport visits the San Francisco 49ers to marvel at hi-tech gadgets that could transform the Yorkshire club

How a slice of Silicon Valley is taking Leeds United back to the future. . .

Mail Sport visits the San Francisco 49ers to marvel at hi-tech gadgets that could transform the Yorkshire club 49ers Enterprises completed a takeover of Leeds United back in July last year Mail Sport visited San Francisco 49ers to see how Leeds could be transformed Mail Sport’s Chief Football Reporter Sami Mokbel gives the transfer latest on Ivan Toney, Conor Gallagher and more on It’s All Kicking Off By Mike Keegan For Mailonline Published: 17:30 EST, 3 January 2024 | Updated: 17:30 EST, 3 January 2024 e-mail View comments The sign on the door of a room at Levi’s Stadium, the futuristic, Silicon Valley home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers , reads: ‘Exec Huddle’. It is a grand name but a look inside reveals a corporate box that has been transformed into a data room. Out on the balcony there is a clear view of the home team, a favourite for the Super Bowl , rolling over the Seattle Seahawks in front of an adoring 68,500.

But in here the attention is on touch points, rather than touchdowns. As the 49ers close in on another victory, a group of graduates monitor a series of numbers on a vast bank of screens. Each captures the story of a different area of the gameday operation.

The parking screen, for example, reveals how many vehicles are in the lots, what time they got there, how long they had to queue and even how many drivers turned up with a pass for the wrong game (more than 80). Those in the huddle scour the data for issues, patterns and quick wins. Earlier in the season they used the data to open a new parking lane.

The result is that fans — and their disposable incomes — are able to get into the stadium earlier. 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of NFL giants the San Francisco 49ers, completed a full takeover of English football’s biggest sleeping giant Leeds United back in July 2023 Leeds could take inspiration from the NFL giants in several areas over the next few years Stock levels are also scrutinised. Booze-up and brewery? This is a place that never runs out of beer.

If one retailer is running low on jerseys bearing the name of star quarterback Brock Purdy, extras are dispatched. A long queue at a particular gate? Additional staff will be with you shortly. This is the 49ers way — and it is now the Leeds United way.

In July, five years after their initial investment, 49ers Enterprises, the NFL giant’s investment arm, completed a full takeover of English football’s biggest sleeping giant. Those involved took control of a club neglected, with vast potential, and have jumped in. Architects have already drawn up plans to increase the capacity of Elland Road from 37,890 to 55,000.

The Yanks are not coming, they have arrived. At the top, chairman and 49ers Enterprises president Paraag Marathe runs the show. He is a regular visitor, staying in Leeds, Harrogate and London and, although still key to the 49ers as executive vice-president of football operations, he is in daily contact with West Yorkshire.

Marathe has quickly revamped Leeds’ senior leadership team, bringing trusted experience and expertise, educated at some of the finest institutions in the US. Morrie Eisenberg, a former Tesla executive who was key to the 49ers’ switch from the iconic Candlestick Park to Levi’s in 2014, was appointed chief operating officer in October. ‘Morrie is excellent at being excellent,’ Mail Sport was told of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who is a close confidant of Marathe.

He will need to be. Stadium aside, this is a commercial operation in need of a huge uplift. There will be movement in the US.

The 49ers have sold Leeds jerseys in their vast megastore and the view is that they are the biggest club in the growing US market outside the Premier League’s big six. There is a Leeds United Supporters Club in each major city and a thriving group in the Bay Area itself. A Leeds United tour of the US this summer is on the cards.

There are a number of gadgets at the 49ers Levi’s Stadium that could bring Leeds to the future Robbie Evans has followed Eisenberg across the Atlantic as chief strategy officer, though it says much about the low-key approach that his arrival was only spotted when his name appeared on the ‘Who’s Who’ page in Leeds’ matchday programme. Evans is an economics graduate of Stanford University and comes armed with 49ers’ experience and an impressive c. v.

. Both have swapped the Bay for Beeston, near Elland Road. Friends say they ‘have embraced all aspects of life in Yorkshire, bar the weather’.

Eisenberg has got down to work on stadium redevelopment. Mail Sport understands a framework has already been drafted. Work would commence with a long-awaited upgrade on a West Stand that has barely changed since Don Revie’s days, before moving on to the North Stand.

The aim is to maintain the character and atmosphere while maximising revenue. A revamp of the stadium is likely to feature a Levi’s-style data box, though the name ‘Exec Huddle’ may be Yorkshire-fied. The ‘Gerrit Reyt Room’, perhaps.

Elsewhere, a 49ers’ Museum may also provide inspiration. San Francisco season-ticket holders can visit a zone with club-based interactions a certain number of times for free. One-off punters pay $49 (£39).

The venue features a recreation of the office of legendary coach Bill Walsh, complete with playbooks and projector. It is hard to imagine a Leeds version without a Don Revie office, though Brian Clough’s mythical axe may be missing from the desk. There is said to be a treasure trove of memorabilia from the club’s history locked away in various rooms within the ground and ready to be opened to the public.

Early noises are that such a facility may well feature in the West Stand plans. Some things may not travel. At various points in the Seahawks game, a giant scoreboard flashed up a ‘Decibel-o-meter’, which challenged fans to move the needle by making more noise.

Good luck with that one in LS11. Any project would also focus on the bigger picture. It is not lost on those involved that Leeds is the largest city in Europe without its own transit system.

Elland Road lies on the other side of a ring road which cuts south Leeds off from a thriving city. The talk is of a tram network, with a transport hub based at the stadium. The view is that such a connection would unlock regeneration for a neglected slice of town.

That is where Peter Lowy comes in. According to insiders, the Australian former chief executive of shopping centre giant Westfield is ‘obsessed’ with the prospect of a rail link and the potential for transforming the stadium and surrounding area. Lowe is ‘a proper Leeds fan’, according to those who know him, who cuts an animated figure in the directors’ box.

He is a significant investor whose father, Frank, is worth an estimated £4. 7billion. It all sounds exciting and may come as music to the ears of a long-suffering supporter.

Mail Sport, however, understands none of these changes will happen until Leeds return to the Premier League. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, there are no plans to cash in on key players in the January transfer window. The club have five loan signing slots left for a reason and may borrow in an attempt to get over the line and back to the top flight.

A left back is a priority. The view is that the clock is ticking. The prospect of diminishing parachute payments beyond this season looms large.

A 4-0 thrashing of Ipswich sent fans and officials into Christmas in high spirits, but back-to-back defeats after that proved sobering. Monday’s 3-0 dismantling of Birmingham was more like it. Leicester may be as good as gone at the top of the table but there remains a belief that the second automatic promotion spot is achievable under Daniel Farke.

With fourth-placed Leeds seven points adrift of Ipswich in second, there is little room for error. Mail Sport understands the changes won’t take place until Leeds return to the top-flight There is a closeness between the ownership and Farke that has not existed between executives and manager at Leeds for some time. ‘Daniel runs the show,’ one source explained.

‘It’s almost Marcelo Bielsa-esque. ’ At the manager’s request, there has been an upgrade to the canteen at Leeds’ Thorp Arch training ground to give it a more modern feel. The changing rooms have had a facelift and the gym is being revamped.

Although profit and sustainability rules are a constant backdrop, Farke can rely on the owners’ backing. On the recruitment side, chief strategy officer Evans takes a data-led approach and uses the latest in technological advances to help. He has been charged with dragging the club’s systems from dark age to cutting edge.

Medical and performance are also areas he will seek to revamp. Nick Hammond, once of Celtic and Newcastle, works on trading and completing deals in an advisory role. Gretar Steinsson, former Tottenham performance head, is technical director.

Adam Underwood is head of football operations having stepped up from the academy and is supported by head of football administration Hannah Cox and head of medicine and performance Rob Price. With defined roles and responsibilities and a sharing of the workload, it is a far cry from the final days of previous owner Andrea Radrizzani, when it felt to many as if Angus Kinnear, who remains as chief executive, and former director of football Victor Orta were given the responsibility of running the club between them. Some believe the plan is based on a six-year turnaround, though insiders insist there is no exit strategy and that those involved are in it for the long haul.

The number of investors involved is unknown. Some believe it to be more than 60 and even up to 100. Backers are spread across the globe, and in late November a watch party for a Leeds match was held for a large group based close to Seattle.

It is no secret is that the aim of the project is to make money — but to do that the club needs to be a success, established in the Premier League and playing in a vastly improved Elland Road. Marathe is thought to be keen on building a model of sporting expertise — a system of taking a club, growing it and selling it on. One Bay Area businessman describes Marathe as ‘a private individual who rarely puts his head above the parapet’.

‘He is not building a personal brand,’ they added. ‘He has no ego, he is not on TV every week and he is not putting stuff on social media all the time. He likes to let players do the talking on the pitch.

’ Leeds are currently in promotion contention as they sit in the play-offs – seven points off second-placed Ipswich Given their prior involvement, Marathe gained vital experience before 49ers Enterprises took full control of Leeds. Although it would never be deemed a positive, the lessons learned from relegation may turn out to be useful. It is unlikely a manager would be given as much time as Jesse Marsch to turn things around should they go south.

And if promotion arrives, the strategy is likely to see the squad overhauled. Major investment to remain in the promised land would be a given. Nothing is being left to chance.

If all goes to plan and the ‘Exec Huddle’ is recreated at Elland Road, those tasked with keeping everyone happy on match days may be in for a pleasant surprise. The 49ers group asked Leeds fans for feedback on Elland Road and it was a little more positive than expected. The over-riding view, put bluntly, was, ‘It’s a s***hole, but it’s our s***hole’.

Some things may — and should — never change. Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks San Francisco 49ers Share or comment on this article: How a slice of Silicon Valley is taking Leeds United back to the future. .

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