The stadium has an enviable central location close to the city centre. In order to maximise the earnings potential of the land around the stadium in June 2007 work began to build a 158 bedroomed 4-star Millennium and Copthorne Hotel behind the new Westfield stand. The new hotel opened its doors in November 2008. At the Shareholders' meeting in November 2007 the club announced that it intended to extend the back of the Kop stand with an additional 3,200 seats and remove the pillars holding up the roof. The revised stand capacity is likely to be about 13,400, slightly less than the Holte End at Villa Park. The club also planned a major upgrade to the Kop facilities and covering of the concourse areas, in tandem with a plan to build student accommodation at the back of the Kop and a large business centre (office block) between the Kop and South stand. In the same meeting, the club announced that its long-term ambitions are to add an additional 6,000 seats to the main South (Valad) Stand with the intentions of taking the overall stadium capacity to just over 44,000, however this expansion would depend on demand in the Premiership and any potential 2018 World Cup venue bid. United PLC Former Chairman Kevin McCabe stated that he would build Bramall Lane's extensions to any specifications laid down by the FA with a view to the ground hosting matches should England be successful in winning their World Cup bid. However, on 16 December 2009, the FA announced that Hillsborough Stadium (home of rivals Sheffield Wednesday) would be Sheffield's venue in the event that a World Cup is awarded to England and Sheffield is named a host city. Following this announcement Sheffield United's Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, made it known that all planned redevelopment work had been put on hold until the club was able to regain and maintain Premiership status. In May 2015 work began on the installation of a state-of-the-art Desso pitch, bringing to an end around 153 years of football being played on a traditional surface at the oldest professional football stadium in the world. New proposals for the currently open corner between the Kop and South Stand were revealed in 2017, with the plans including the construction of a block of residential flats and a new, larger club shop. Attendance The record attendance stands at 68,287 for the Sheffield