Manchester United advances on new stadium project
Club establishes partnership with regional authorities to assess impact on local development of arena for 100,000 fans
Manchester United have made progress on a project to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium. The club has partnered with Trafford Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to undertake a study to assess the impact the new stadium could have on the development of the Trafford Wharfside area.
The stadium’s design is intended to be aligned with the region’s development planning and the Greater Manchester region’s growth strategy. Mayor Andy Burnham has stated that Manchester’s intention is to have football as one of its main attractions.
– Greater Manchester has a strong claim to be the greatest football region on the planet. Few places come close to matching the heritage and global impact of our clubs and our culture. The future of Old Trafford is the next chapter in that story. And now we have the chance to make sure it is written rightly – said Burnham.
Manchester United have been studying the possibilities of having a new stadium for some years. The club is torn between completely renovating Old Trafford, which opened in 1910, or building a stadium from scratch. In the latter case, a smaller version of the legendary stadium would be kept for women’s and youth football matches.
The arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe as one of the club’s owners at the end of last year has accelerated the project. The businessman, who holds 25% of the shares and is now the strongman of football, treats the new stadium as a priority for the club and wants a definition of the exact path to be taken by the end of the year. He would be in favor of building a new arena from scratch.
The club’s new stadium is expected to be ready by 2030. The task force will also look at ways to finance the project, which is expected to receive public funding due to the impact it could have on the entire North of England. Local media have reported that United’s new home could be a “Wembley of the North”. The project could cost up to £2 billion.
– The aim of this once-in-a-generation project is not only to develop a world-class stadium for the north of England, but also to ensure that it brings wider social and economic benefits to the area and the surrounding region – said Lord Sebastian Coe, leader of the taskforce involving government bodies and the club.
