Skip to main content

United may have to modify stadium plans

Manchester United have had plans drawn up for a new Old Trafford where the canopy that caused such a stir when unveiled earlier this year is removed.  The club are looking at alternatives to the bold design presented in March by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and architect Sir Norman Foster, due to issues over purchasing the required land.

Talks have been held with Freightliner, the company that owns much of the area to the west of the current ground, which had been earmarked for part of the new stadium footprint and some 17,000 homes.

But Freightliner is demanding around £400million ($535m) for the land, according to sources familiar with proceedings who spoke on the condition of anonymity, substantially higher than United’s projected price in the region of £50m, as first reported by The Guardian. The company is willing to relocate the freight terminal to a new site but is so far holding out for a major windfall.

Amid the impasse, United are considering different options for a new stadium, with drawings in the works showing what Foster termed “a vast umbrella” scrapped due to space.

The updated designs are described by sources as being more in line with traditional stadium appearances. Deliberations are live, with Foster’s design still an option, although should United proceed with a contingency plan without the canopy, it would require less Freightliner land and could therefore progress more quickly. Various options over the precise location of the stadium structure are being explored and each would require different amounts and configurations of land.

Shipping conglomerate CMA CGM, headquartered in Marseille, agreed a deal earlier this week to buy Freightliner’s UK rail and road operations. The takeover is scheduled to close early next year, a press release from CMA CGM said on Monday, but what that means for the Old Trafford talks is unclear.

Funding for the new stadium in its entirety, which originally came with an estimated cost of £2billion, is also yet to be confirmed, with United’s financial picture still tight.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...
Post a Comment
Read more