Leyton Orient see Brentford rise as 'blueprint', says CEO Mark Devlin

Brisbane Road has been the home of Leyton Orient since 1937

Brentford's rise is a "blueprint" for Leyton Orient as they ponder a new stadium, says former Bees and now Orient chief executive Mark Devlin.

Orient are top of League Two but set to make a £1.5m loss this season.

Brentford grew, under Devlin, from a London rival to a Premier League club with a new purpose-built stadium.

"I joined Orient just over a year ago," Devlin told BBC Radio London. "The club are at the same level Brentford were when I joined them in 2011."

He added: "It's very tough. If we were to get promoted then talk of the new stadium is all about planning for the future, which is part of my responsibility - to keep one eye on what could happen going forward as well as keeping an eye on the day-to-day.

"Brentford have got a fantastic ownership model, they have stayed true to their values. It's great to see what's happening there. Seeing how Brentford have grown and how they've run it has become a blueprint."

Brentford moved into their new stadium in 2020

Brentford were based at Griffin Park since 1904 before moving to Gtech Community Stadium in 2020, a plan 50-year-old Devlin played a large role in during seven years at the west London club.

The expansion heralded their Premier League era, with the 2019-20 season ending in Championship play-off victory while saying goodbye to Griffin Park.

The Bees had previously mooted a groundshare if they were to achieve promotion to the Premier League.

Devlin believes a move away from Brisbane Road, Orient's home since 1937, is something they will have to consider - which he has said would cost about £70m. However, he thinks the club are probably better placed than Brentford were when he joined them.

"I would say Brisbane Road is a bit more modern than Griffin Park was, with better hospitality and so forth, but similar crowds and the same challenge was there in front of us," said Devlin, who also held the CEO role at Queens Park Rangers and Huddersfield Town.

"They've got themselves into the Premier League and created a fantastic stadium, and the stadium itself creates a wonderful atmosphere.

"A few people laughed at Brentford initially. I've certainly learned a lot from there and Orient are capable of being a very well-run, competitive League One club.

"If you get it right on the pitch, and also get the right people behind the scenes, there's no reason we can't push on from there.

"I'm very lucky to have a very good board at Orient who are very ambitious - but everything has to make sense."

Brisbane Road currently also hosts Tottenham Hotspur Women home matches

Orient are looking at increasing the Brisbane Road capacity - in particular the East Stand which Devlin says is "not fit for modern spectator sport".

Brentford's own plans to move away from Griffin Park were 13 years in the making as they looked to secure their long-term stability.

In the short-term, Orient are trying to find ways to maximise revenue, which includes hosting Tottenham Hotspur Women.

"We are still likely to lose in the region of £1.5m, which the board will be expected to cover. If we were to get promoted, we would need to spend more heavily on the playing squad," said Devlin.

"The difference in revenues between Leagues Two and One, when you add in the additional requirement if you want to be at the very least competitive in the division above us, probably means it's a negligible increase.

"It's baby steps. We want to improve Brisbane Road first. We are looking at a new training ground because our facilities are not what we would like them to be, so there's an awful lot going on now.

"If we do continue to succeed there are limitations to the ground - the actual physical ground available to us - and if we wanted to have crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 it's difficult to see how that could fit at Brisbane Road.

"We are many years away from that. Like all London clubs, moving to a new stadium in London wouldn't be easy.

"But as CEO, and with the board, we do need to keep looking forward at how we can take the club forward and make it sustainable - and grow our fanbase and our revenues. All those sorts of business things, as well as being successful on the football pitch."

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