United favour new stadium

 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium for Manchester United that he hopes would be the envy of world football.

On Friday the club put artists’ impressions of a potential new home on their website after an Old Trafford regeneration taskforce, chaired by Lord Coe, completed its initial feasibility study into options for either redeveloping the existing ground or moving to a new site.

The findings suggest that moving to a new state-of-the-art stadium on land next to the existing Old Trafford site could, according to the report, act “as a catalyst for wider regeneration of a re-energised Trafford Park, which could deliver an extra £7.3billion gross added value to the UK economy and more than 90,000 employment opportunities”.

The report revealed that United’s options have now been narrowed down to two possibilities — either build a new 100,000-capacity home or redevelop Old Trafford and increase its capacity to 87,000 — with a decision to be made by the end of the season. 

The Times understands, however, that Ratcliffe and Ineos, in charge of football operations, would prefer to move to a new stadium, the cost of which would equate to about £2billion to £2.3billion, and could take seven years to construct. Leading architects Foster & Partners are expected to be appointed as the chief designers.

A revamp of the existing stadium would cost £1.2billion and only increase the capacity by 13,000. Plus, part of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand would have to be closed during the revamp, which could take a few years and would lead to a decrease in revenue, with fewer spectators attending matches during building works. There is also the added complication of building over the railway line behind the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.

Naming rights could be sold as part of the attempt to raise money for a new stadium although United would insist on Old Trafford remaining the core part of the stadium’s name, so for example, it could be called “Old Trafford presented by Company X”. 

The document revealed that discussions are set to take place regarding the possible establishment of a mayoral development corporation (MDC), which would help accelerate the building of a new stadium. An MDC can hand out Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs). That, in theory, would give them the right to buy the land owned by Freightliner, which is next to one of the car parks at Old Trafford.United would like to build the stadium in and around that area. 

A CPO may not be needed, however, as Freightliner, the UK’s largest maritime intermodal logistics operator, is thought to be open to moving its operations to St Helens. Positive talks have been held by all parties.

As part of the feasibility study, more than 50,000 United fans were surveyed about what they want the club to do. The study found that more than half are ready to move, although it was not an overwhelming majority, as 52 per cent declared their support for the option to relocate, 31 per cent preferred the idea of developing the existing ground and 17 per cent were unsure.