A billionaire Leeds United director and 49ers chief has moved to separate himself from the NFL heavyweights’ connection with Rangers – after professing his admiration for Celtic.
The California-based Australian businessman Pete Lowy sat down for an uncommon interview to outline future plans for the Elland Road side, including the club’s bold stadium redevelopment project.
Lowy has supported Leeds United since childhood and joined the club in 2021 as part of the 49ers Enterprises ownership group, becoming one of the principal backers through the Lowy Family Group.
Although he followed the Yorkshire outfit growing up in Australia, Lowy acknowledged a soft spot for the Hoops and visited Parkhead last season alongside Celtic-mad Leeds United icon Eddie Gray.
Lowy revealed that witnessing Celtic under the floodlights on a European evening represents the standard he hopes Leeds United can aspire to, after Leeds City Council approved proposals to expand Elland Road’s capacity from 37,645 to around 53,000 seats.
He featured on the BBC’s latest episode of Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet and was questioned about Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe stepping aside as vice-chairman of Rangers.
That move occurred two days before UEFA’s deadline for clubs to comply with its multi-club ownership regulations.
When asked what he could comment on, Lowy laughed: “Probably nothing. Sorry about that. I like to answer questions. I’m not an investor in Rangers, I’m not involved in Rangers – I don’t have anything to do with that except that I’m a Celtic man. When you see Eddie (Gray) and I sitting there together….
“That’s not why I didn’t invest, it just wasn’t for me. One of the best nights I had actually. Eddie and I went up to Celtic Park last season during the European Cup. They played Leipzig, I think. And if you want to imagine what you can do at a stadium and imagine where you can take a club then that stadium is spectacular, the noise there, the people, the commitment and if we can get some of that up to where we are at Elland Road we’ll be doing really well.”
Addressing Marathe’s decision, Lowy added: “The way I look at it, Paraag is an extremely good executive and knows how to divide his time. For our fans to know, their investment in Rangers did not take one minute away from what Paraag is doing at Leeds and the job he does for us.”