Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town chief executive Jake Edwards has outlined the future projects the club will undertake for The Accu Stadium after becoming its sole owners.

The League One club previously held joint ownership of the stadium along with Kirklees Council and Super League side Huddersfield Giants.

The acquisition allows the club to do necessary maintenance and complete upgrades to ensure a sustainable future for the stadium.

"We've got a number of areas in the stadium that still either need to be upgraded or some spaces that aren't used at the moment which we can reimagine," Edwards told BBC Radio Leeds.

"There's potential for a hotel on the site which we think will be really additive to matchday and non-matchday activities here.

"We want this to become the destination in the region for conferences and events, for concerts as well as all the sporting events we can showcase here."

Huddersfield Town have been occupiers of the stadium since 1994 but have never had full ownership until now. Less control has negatively affected the club financially by putting them at a disadvantage to their EFL rivals.

"[Previously] we've not been able to capture naming rights, no concerts and non-matchday revenue either."

Town chairman Kevin Nagle was the main investor who got the deal over the line, but the stadium does not rely on his presence at the club.

"The football club now will wholly own and control the football stadium and that will be the structure moving forward," explained Edwards.

"The site that we sit on, we have a 300 year-long lease now with the council who retain the freehold and within that is a protection that this will always have the football stadium on this land."

Listen to the full interview with CEO Jake Edwards about the acquisition of The Accu Stadium on Sounds.

Huddersfield manager Lee Grant relished witnessing an elite level of football during the 2-0 loss to Premier League side Manchester City in the Carabao Cup third round, believing it's a level his side can reach themselves in the future.

Town came up against England internationals Phil Foden, John Stones and Kalvin Phillips, but Grant was proud with the way his side fought to try to get a result.

"We have a long way to go to achieve some of the things and level that [Manchester City] are at right now, but why not have that as a goal," Grant told BBC Radio Leeds.

"The collective was there, they were there for each other. I saw nobody isolated or nobody left to their own devices. I saw a group fighting for everybody."

Grant was pleased with the experienced players of his squad combining with the development players to bring a competitive match to their elite-level opponents.

Teenage defender Jay Smith-Sway replaced Lasse Sorensen during the second half, managing to keep a clean sheet during his time on the pitch, while 19-year-old midfielder Daniel Vost played the full 90 minutes in a holding midfield role.

"Super proud of young guys who are yet to make league debuts for us and are fighting and going toe-to-toe working incredibly hard for the group. Really really proud of that," Grant added.

Cameron Ashia, 18, also made a name for himself during Town's cup run, scoring in the 2-2 draw with Championship side Leicester City in the first round to equalise and send the tie to penalties.

Grant sang the forward's praises once more after he hit the post against Manchester City.

"[Cameron] has shown some really bright moments across this Carabao Cup run. Delighted with how he's contributed to it and plenty of work ahead for him but hopefully opportunities in the future for him."

Ashia will hope to be rewarded with a place in the squad for Town's League One visit to Exeter City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Listen to the full interview with Lee Grant and more Huddersfield Town on Sounds.