New Sheffield Wednesday owners told to make big Hillsborough change - most Owls fans are in agreement | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday's new owners have been sent a strong demand involving one part of the club's Hillsborough stadium

As Sheffield Wednesday's takeover saga continues to toil on following the Owls' entrance into administration and the long-awaited exit of grossly-unpopular, now-former chairman Dejphon Chansiri, the new owners of the Championship outfit — whoever they may be — have been urged to make one big change at Hillsborough.

No shortage of names have been linked with a takeover of the second-tier's bottom-placed outfit, who find themselves destined to suffer relegation to League One after incurring a fresh six-point deduction from the EFL this week.

For now, however, it remains unclear exactly who is going to take the reigns at Hillsborough after Chansiri's much-welcomed departure, with the Owls' current administrators set to determine preferred bidder status on Friday, 5 December - the deadline for the two-week negotiating period with interested parties.

But whoever completes the takeover of the Steel City side has been sent a strong plea to knock down Hillsborough's Leppings Lane End, which is where a fatal crush during an FA Cup clash between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool in April 1989 caused the deaths of 97 Reds supporters.

The stand, controversially, remains in use to this day, and the majority of those affiliated with Wednesday are in agreement that, once the club finds itself under fresh ownership and renewed capacity to invest, action needs to be taken on knocking down the Leppings Lane End.

Sheffield MP Clive Betts calls for Leppings Lane End demolition at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium

Sheffield South East MP Clive Betts, who attends each home fixture at Wednesday, has voiced his criticism over the continued use of the Leppings Lane End, calling for the controversial stand to be demolished when the new owners come in.

Betts has argued that the stand remains "almost untouched", and explained how he would ask the new owners to rip down the stand. In Betts' view, it's a "disgrace" that the Leppings Lane End is still used, and has undergone limited renovation, considering the gravity of the Hillsborough disaster.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield, the MP said: "I go to Hillsbrough, every home game. I go on the Kop and I look across at the West Stand, the Leppings Lane End, where 97 people died 36 years ago.

"And it's still there, almost untouched, some changes around the capacity and things like that. But essentially, the stand is untouched.

"One of the things I would ask the new owner of Sheffield Wednesday, when they're identified in the next few days, is one of their priorities should be, whether their club moves grounds or redevelops Hillsborough, let's get that stand down.

"It is, you know, a memorial of itself to that terrible tragedy, and in some ways it's quite awful it is there 36 years later."

When asked whether he believes the stand should be ripped down completely, Betts responded: "I do, absolutely.

"I think talking to some of my colleagues, who are Liverpool MPs last night, that's something they would absolutely support as well.

"I think in some ways it's a disgrace, not merely to Wednesday but the football world, that that is still there, basically untouched, a building where 97 people died.

Sheffield Wednesday fans react to Clive Betts' Leppings Lane Stand message to new Owls owners

The clip, which was shared onto X by BBC Sheffield, has struck a chord of agreement among Wednesdayites and beyond.

Many Wednesday supporters, especially those who grew up supporting the club prior to and amid the Hillsborough disaster, remain incensed by the fact that the Leppings Lane Stand remains to this day, 36 years on from the tragedy.

This one fan is very much in agreement with Betts, and he believes that the FA and government should cover the majority of the cost for the demolition and subsequent reconstruction considering, what he has argued, the cost of millions in lost revenue.

It's also argued that action should have been taken soon after the Hillsborough diaster took place, as voiced by this Wednesdayite.

This fan, meanwhile, has contended that constructing a new stadium entirely would be no bad thing, explaining that it would be a display of "instant ambition" from the Owls' new owners.

It's not just Wednesday supporters who agree, either. It may take a lot for Wednesdayites and Sheffield United supporters to be in agreement, but this Blades fan understands Betts' concern and believes the stand is still a "death trap" due to the limited capacity of the concourse.