Reports have confirmed that a Leeds street which was renamed ‘Marcelo Bielsa Way’ will stay the same following the departure of the legendary Leeds United Manager.
The renamed street, which connects Trinity Leeds shopping centre to Commercial Street in the heart of the city’s shopping district, was originally unveiled on Wednesday 22 July 2020 following confirmation of Leeds United’s promotion to the Premier League.
Now, the name will remain a permanent fixture in the city to honour the former Leeds United manager upon his departure.
Image: UMPH
David Maddison, Centre Director of Trinity Leeds, has stated that:
“When we announced the street renaming, we did it because what Marcelo had done for Leeds United and our city was nothing short of incredible. It wasn’t just that he’d won promotion and transformed the club, it was the manner in which he’d done it – the Bielsa way – that was so special.
“The city will be forever grateful to him, for these special years, and it’s only right that we should continue to honour the man in this way – gracias Marcelo.”
In a statement from Leeds United, the football team confirmed that themselves and head coach Marcelo Bielsa had ‘parted company’ over the weekend.
The 66-year-old has taken the team through a fight to the Premier League since June 2018 and won’t be forgotten by Leeds anytime soon.
The news followed a dramatic 4-0 defeat by Tottenham on Saturday, taking their past four games to an aggregate score of 17-2. However, during his time with Leeds United, Bielsa shared a great deal of triumphant wins at the club that haven’t been forgotten.
Image: Leeds United
Upon his arrival in 2018, Bielsa transformed the club’s fortunes, leading Leeds to the Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs in his first full season in charge.
In his second campaign, Bielsa brought new energy to the club and succeeded where those before him had failed. The coach guided the club to the Sky Bet Championship title, winning the division by 10 points, and resulting in promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.
Bielsa has been succeeded by Jesse Marsch, whose first game will be against Leicester City in the Premier League this Saturday. New manager Marsch is expected be with the team for quite some time- the manager has signed a deal with Elland Road until June 2025.
With 12 games left to go, Marsch will be looking to guide Leeds United away from the relegation zone and draw on his experience from RB Leipzig as Ralf Rangnick’s assistant and head coach of Red Bull clubs Salzburg and New York.
You can visit the new 'Marcelo Bielsa Way' street in Leeds which connects Trinity Leeds shopping centre to Commercial Street in the heart of the city’s shopping district in the city centre.
Feature Image- UMPH
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Leeds band Yard Act announce 2026 UK tour including homecoming gig
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.
We are so, so back.
It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.
The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.
After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26 November.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27 March. Sign up here.
Estimated to be worth around £45 million, the Grade II-listed structure renovations won't begin for a little while just yet, but it is set to increase the capacity of the space by more than 50%.
Announced on Tuesday, 24 March, the major refurb will be partly funded by public money and topped up by the private sector and "philanthropic partners".
The UK government and Sheffield City Council will be pumping in approximately £35m, with a further £10m being added through the investment mentioned above.
Soon to allow the theatre to scale up or down in size, the hope is that the new 'in the round' format will enable the Crucible to serve its arts and sporting audiences for decades to come, as well as opening the big Northern stage up to new opportunities.
Due to start in the summer of 2028, it's still unclear as to the exact completion date, but the plans are in support of confirmation that the annual snooker tournament will stay put.
A fresh agreement with the WSC will see them stay in Sheff until at least 2045, with the Crucible's number of seats set to jump from just under 1,000 to 1,480.
It's also said there is an option in the deal to extend the contract until 2050, and as one of the biggest competitive events that comes to the city year in and year out, you would expect them to push hard for the Council and partners to push hard for this, too.
Credit: Bread and Butter PR (supplied)
Dan Walker, Chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust, said in a statement: "The Crucible is a wonderful theatre with a brilliant reputation, and the positive impact of this investment will be seen for years to come.
"As a proud resident of Sheffield, I know the importance of snooker to our city, but this isn’t only good news for Sheffield: this is amazing news for the north of England and the whole of the UK."
If all goes to plan, the overhaul should take around 18 months, with productions being hosted in the Lyceium and the newest room, the Montgomery.
All the while, the Sheffield Theatres will continue to present new work both domestically and around the globe over this period, with more details coming this autumn 2026.
Sophie Smith -
1st March 2022 
