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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.

 

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