Sheffield Wednesday confirm big Hillsborough change after 'phenomenal' Bradford City situation | OneFootball

There's set to be an even bigger attendance for next week's Yorkshire Derby between Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City than anticipated

Sheffield Wednesday's League One campaign will kick off this weekend, but their first home match will not come until the following week - where there has been an insane demand for tickets.

The Owls will make the trip down to London on Saturday to take on Leyton Orient in their 2026-27 curtain-raiser, and they will not have to wait long to return home for their first fixture at Hillsborough, when Bradford City make the trip to S6 on Thursday August 20.

Wednesday's first home league match of the season will be much anticipated after an exciting summer under new owner David Storch, and there's set to be a huge attendance.

Sheffield Wednesday announce capacity increase for Bradford City clash

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The clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford - which once upon a time was contested in the Premier League - is of course a Yorkshire Derby pitting South against West, and it's heading towards a potential sell-out.

The current capacity of Hillsborough, when everything is open, is 34,845, and with Bradford selling out their full allocation in the upper tier of the West Stand, there's going to be some noise coming back at the home team.

But Henrik Pedersen's side are set to be backed themselves. Over 30,000 tickets for the clash have been sold, on top of Bradford's 2,000-plus, and with the demand high among the home supporters, Wednesday have now announced that they have opened up the West Stand Lower, with 1,500 tickets up for grabs for Owls fans.

Bolton Wanderers trial run has led to big Sheffield Wednesday demand

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That news means that the attendance could reach the maximum figure of just shy of 35,000, which is a lot more than what watched the Owls defeat Bolton Wanderers 1-0 in the EFL Cup this past weekend.

Hillsborough was operating at a limited capacity for Saturday's match, but there was still an impressive showing of 15,834 turning up from both sides of the Pennines to watch Wednesday progress into Round Two.

And perhaps that positivity stemming from a win over a team in the division above has created even more of a buzz surrounding the upcoming clash with Bradford, leading to the release of more tickets.

Wednesday's attendances faltered during their painful 2025-26 season, with initially dropping to around the low 20,000's due to fans staying away because of Dejphon Chansiri's ownership, and whilst they at times increased during the administration period to 23,000-24,000, it was on the last day of the season when David Storch's purchase of the club was confirmed where 33,750 packed into the stadium to witness a victory and a farewell to the Championship.

New Sheffield Wednesday news shows the positivity David Storch has created

This time last year, Wednesday were still under the tumultuous ownership of Chansiri, not knowing if the bills or wages were going to be paid on time, and just a couple of months later, the Thai businessman threw in the towel and called for the administrators.

It was the best thing that could actually happen to the Owls at the time, and whilst there was pain on the pitch, and a failed, withdrawn bid from James Bord that could have had a different ending, Wednesday have seemingly come out of it with a fantastic new owner in the form of Storch.

The American has made big moves both on and off the pitch this summer, and whilst there is still work to be done when it comes to the playing squad, Sheffield Wednesday are in a good position to be a League One promotion challenger this coming season - and they'll be looking to prove that against Bradford next week.