A group that are hoping to purchase Sheffield Wednesday have announced ambitious plans to build a 55,000-seater stadium and make the club ‘way bigger than Wrexham’.
Wednesday, who are the second oldest professional football team in England, were part of the Premier League for its inaugural eight seasons, but they have spent the following 25 years yo-yoing between the second and third tiers.
The Owls are currently in a period of crisis, with the club – who are owned by Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri – yet to pay their wages in full for May, having also been late with payments in April.
Chansiri took over the club in 2015 and initially spent big as they pushed for promotion, but the financial support from him has long dried up and he has been looking to sell Wednesday since 2018 amid protests from fans.
Two US-based groups are said to be in talks, and while one is remaining private, another group has gone public with their interest.
John Flanagan, a property investor from Florida and Sheffield-born businessman Adam Shaw are leading a 16-strong consortium to buy the Owls that is said to include a former Premier League star, several baseball stars and a major celebrity.
A 16-strong consortium that are hoping to purchase Sheffield Wednesday have announced ambitious plans to build a 55,000-seater stadium and take the club back to the Premier League
Wednesday have been owned by Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri for more than 10 years
However, Chansiri has come under fire from Wednesday fans and is looking to sell the club
Chansiri’s price tag for the club is said to be coming down after rejecting a £48million offer from the group and Shaw has outlined the prospective new owners’ bold plans for the Owls.
Alongside a desire to build a 55,000-seater stadium to replace their current Hillsborough home – which holds 34,000 – an elite academy is on the table.
Speaking to The Athletic about their ambitions to take Wednesday, who finished 12th in the Championship in 2024-25, back to the top of English football, Shaw said: ‘Sheffield Wednesday are nowhere in America.
‘We sell zero shirts and have no commercial presence there – that’s got to change.
‘With the World Cup in the US next year and with the individuals we have in our ownership group, we could easily become Florida’s English football team.
‘We should and can be way bigger than Wrexham. Ryan Reynolds would give his left leg to have what we already have at Wednesday in terms of our history and fanbase. Let’s use that.’
The group are hugely motivated to return the club to the top flight and they would make Wednesday one of several second tier sides under American ownership.
Shaw outlined the group’s potential plans to make Wednesday ‘way bigger than Wrexham’
Part of this would include a new 55,000-seater stadium to replace their home at Hillsborough
That 55,000-seater new stadium would be a huge part of that and Shaw also outlined a desire to reduce ticket prices and hand out 5,000 seats per game to ambulance crews, fire fighters, NHS staff, police offices and current and former members of the army.
And Shaw insisted the views of supporters would be taken into consideration throughout their ownership, although he outlined the importance of a new stadium.
‘We wouldn’t do anything without consulting the fans,’ he added. ‘But we think the club should have a home where people can park more easily and have up-to-date facilities.
‘If we want to create a culture that ensures we become a sustainable, competitive and successful Premier League side, then we must be proactive. Premier League clubs are all upgrading their stadiums.’
