The Political Economy of Football V2

On Thursday morning, Manchester United unveiled the proposed location of their new, 100,000-capacity stadium.  Unsurprisingly, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s prize project will be based on land the club acquired last month to the north-west of the existing Old Trafford stadium, around 350 metres away from what has been their home since 1910. Collette Roche, United’s chief executive of new stadium development, spoke to journalists following the event at Old Trafford to give an update on where the plans stand, and how they have changed since United first announced their ambitions for a new home in March last year.  Back in March 2025, Ratcliffe expressed confidence that the project could be completed in as little as five years, provided it gained the support of local and national government. Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, was unequivocal on timescales at that stage. When asked if the 2030-31 season was the target for the grand opening, he simply said: “Yes.”Yet ...

Manchester United have secured the majority of the land required to build a new 100,000-seater stadium to replace Old Trafford.   The club announced on Monday it has acquired a 25-acre site north west of the current stadium from Indurent, an industrial warehousing company. The land is located around 350 metres away from Old Trafford’s existing site — between Wharfside Way, Europa Way and John Gilbert Way.    The acquisition means that United no longer require land owned by Freightliner, a rail logistics company, located directly to the west of Old Trafford.Freightliner were demanding around $400million (£301.8m) for the land, substantially higher than United’s projected price of around £50m. The acquisition marks a change from initial designs unveiled by United and architects Foster + Partners last year, which located the new stadium adjacent to the existing site. United said they do not anticipate issues acquiring the remainder of the land required by the new st...

The multi-billion-pound regeneration project that includes a new stadium for Manchester United could be plunged into a “period of uncertainty” if Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election and vacates his present role, The Times can reveal. While the Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation received UK government approval in January, success for the ‘King of the North’ on June 18 means he would vacate the office of mayor immediately. A by-election would then need to take place by August 6.  But there is concern among senior figures linked to the project that such a change could hinder progress on the building of 15,000 homes as well as a state-of-the-art 100,000-seat stadium on the 370-acre site, with a new mayor potentially able to withhold approval for some funding arrangements, direct the board to shift its focus to the residential development or deny the compulsory purchase of land should it be required.  A spokesman for Reform UK said they would c...

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 optio...

  Manchester United season-ticket holders could have to pay up to £4,000 each just to reserve a seat at their new ground if the proposed move into a 100,000-seat stadium goes ahead. The introduction of a Personal Seat Licence (PSL) is one of many possible ideas that have been put to supporters during recent focus group sessions organised by US stadium consultants CSL International, which has experience of helping American franchises find ways to part-fund new stadiums. Under the PSL scheme, which is commonplace in some American sports, if a fan buys a seat licence they are given first refusal on that seat for 30 years. The seat licence owner would still have to pay for a season ticket on top of that one-off fee and if they failed to take up the option to buy a season ticket one year, the club would take back the ticket and the licence would be void. The initiative would give fans a guarantee of remaining in the same seats every year, but they would have to pay for that...

One of the most controversial proposals for stadium-led regeneration is in Manchester. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Monaco-based billionaire co-owner of Manchester United, is making the case for building a “Wembley of the North” (originally an idea that Port Vale had many years ago) — referring to the £750mn national stadium in London that was built with private and public funding and boosted the local area through investment in roads, rail and routes for pedestrians. Ratcliffe argues that a new 100,000-seat stadium can “be the catalyst for social and economic renewal of the Old Trafford area”. The project’s cheerleaders have requested more than £200mn in June’s spending review to unlock development around the stadium. The funds would ostensibly pay to remove an adjacent freight terminal to open up space for the new stadium.    Influential  Mayor Andy Burnham has argued that moving the terminal would help address one of the north’s most acute rail bottlenecks, thereby repre...

Where is the £2bn Manchester United needs to raise in order to replace its historic but decrepit 74,000-seater Old Trafford ground, to the west of Manchester city centre 9(n Salford) going to come from?. In Cannes, at the international property trade show, United’s chief operating officer Collette Roche insisted there had been significant interest in investing in the new stadium. “We’re having lots of conversations around where we can get different revenue streams from, really positive conversations . . . we believe it does stack up,” she told the Financial Times .  Andy Green, finance spokesman at Manchester United Supporters Trust and head of investment at private equity firm Rockpool Investments, welcomed the proposal, but said financing is where it “gets really complicated”. “They’ve got £731mn of debt, plus £291mn owed to other clubs,” he said of United. “That’s secured on absolutely everything, so they can only borrow more by refinancing what they’ve got.”    ...

A club's stadium or ground evokes powerful emotions among fans.   It is a special case of t opophilia , the love of place.  I know about that as a Charlton fan where fans formed a political party to secure their return to the ground.   Many West Ham fans still miss the Boleyn Ground. Moving stadiums is expensive, but so is rebuilding them.  Arsenal had to move to the Emirates but it hit spending on the team for some years.   The new Tottenham Hostpur stadium is probably the best club sports venue we have, but it hasn't done much for performances on the pitch. Yet Chelsea are constrained by their stadium which is difficult to redevelop.   Brentford have succeeded in creating an intimate atmosphere in their new stadium but match day revenue is limited.   Southampton have hardly flourished at St. Mary's, but along the coast Brighton have clearly been boosted by having a proper stadium.  Yet Bournemouth have done well at the m...

Fans of other clubs may be less than pleased to hear about the prospect of public funding for Manchester United’s new stadium, but the funding would be for associated works rather than the stadium itself.   In other countries, not least the United States, there is public funding for stadium projects because of the claimed wider benefits.   Indeed, local governments compete to attract sport franchises. Influential Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says he is expecting to secure more than £200mn in government funding for the regeneration of Old Trafford in the forthcoming spending review, paving the way for Manchester United to build a new stadium.  Burnham told the Financial Times that he was having accelerated talks with ministers about his funding request and was confident of a “quick answer”. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to outline the government’s public expenditure plans for the rest of the parliament on June 11. Asked if he was expecting a promis...

Manchester United has announced plans to build a 100,000-seater stadium as the “centrepiece” of a major regeneration project, as minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe presses on with his efforts to overhaul the club from top to bottom. The new ground, designed by architects at Foster + Partners, would be the biggest stadium in the UK and among the largest in the world.   It would be built on ground adjacent to the team’s current 74,000-seater Old Trafford stadium, which would be demolished once the venue is complete. The designs feature a canopy that will collect rain water and solar energy, and will be suspended by three 200-metre spires — a nod to the trident-wielding red devil on the United club crest — that will be visible from 40km away. Speaking in London at the unveiling of the concept, Ratcliffe promised the “most iconic, most recognisable stadium in the world”, and compared it with the Eiffel Tower in its potential to attract visitors from around the world. The modula...

Manchester United’s plan for a new 100,000-seater stadium has now received the backing of the local authority as well as the government, with officials describing the regeneration project as “transformational”. On Saturday the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, offered her public support, describing a state-of-the-art Old Trafford and the redevelopment of the surrounding area as “a shining example” of the Labour government’s policy for promoting economic growth. Now the executive at Trafford council has given its unanimous support, with officials revealing plans to appoint a “top-class consultant team” to collaborate with the Premier League club and the other relevant parties on the project. In a meeting on Monday night, councillor Liz Patel, an executive member for economy and regeneration at Trafford council, said: “I am delighted these plans have been approved by the council executive. As the report says, this is one of the most significant opportunities for urban renewa...

  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...

As the finishing touches are put to Everton’s impressive new home on the Merseyside waterfront and debate continues to rage over the future of Old Trafford, it is clear football stadium design has come a long way. Giant, sweeping terraces were the most common feature of the first wave of grounds: they were cheap to build and capable of packing in as many people as possible. There was little in the way of facilities, even at the very best grounds, with Wembley barely more than a concrete bowl when first opened in 1923. Later, toilets and concourses for people to buy food or drink would become more familiar features, along with maybe a roof to keep the punters dry. But this was still as good as things had got when football grounds guru Simon Inglis started his early-Eighties travels around grounds invariably hemmed in by housing and industry due to being built in a bygone age when supporters had walked to the match. “On the whole, you were looking at the architecture of neglect...

Manchester United will decide by the end of the year if they want to revamp Old Trafford or build a new 100,000-seat stadium on the grounds of their present home. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos chairman who owns 27.7 per cent of the club, has told the stadium taskforce that was set up in April that they should report back in December with their findings. At present, the taskforce, which is led by Lord Coe and includes figures such as Gary Neville and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is leaning towards recommending that a new stadium is built in the car park area behind the Stretford End, rather than a revamp of the existing ground. However, the club say that no final decision has been made. The taskforce acknowledges that building a new stadium would be costly, at an estimated £2billion, and says that any decision will not be made without canvassing the opinions of the supporters. The club have already asked 30,000 fans for their thoughts in a survey. A subcommi...

Building a new stadium is expensive. That is a key factor behind the Glazer family’s decision to sell a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United to Sir Jim Ratcliffe — the British billionaire and founder of petrochemicals giant INEOS — in February after a year-long negotiation. The cost to rebuild Old Trafford has been estimated at £2billion ($2.5bn) and a task force has been created by the club to discuss, among other things, where that money is going to come from. More debt being added to the club to fund a new stadium or the redevelopment of Old Trafford is a viable option and one that decision-makers will seriously consider. It is still a good stadium but it has needed significant investment for two decades and has fallen behind other Premier League venues in terms of modernity. The roof is leaky, the chicken isn’t cooked properly and a club of United’s size and stature should have a state-of-the-art home. The cost of building a new Old Trafford h...

Lord Coe will lead a task force designed to examine the feasibility of a potential new “world-class” stadium for Manchester United. The club’s minority investment holders, Ineos, hope that Coe’s expertise and experience will help them as they look into the possibility of revamping Old Trafford or building a new 80,000-seater arena behind the present stadium. It is understood that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos chairman who has bought a 27.7 per cent stake in United, would prefer to build a new stadium rather than refurbish the present ground, and the board agrees with him. Coe, who is a Chelsea fan, was the head of the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics. It is understood that he will lead the “Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force” which will bring together local leaders and national experts to examine how the stadium development can support the local area. Lord Coe hopes that the wider local area would benefit from any increased investment. “Throughout my caree...

I remember going to away matches at Manchester City’s old home at Maine Road, a stadium that had seen better days in a run-down area with Old Trafford a stark contrast.   Now Old Trafford is showing its age with Sir Jim Ratcliffe aiming to replace it or renovate it. One of the most striking things about the round of interviews Sir JimRatcliffe conducted upon purchasing his minority stake in United lwas how happy he was to compliment City on their success. Ratcliffe praised the “very sensible structure” and “driven competitive environment” at the Etihad. On the question of the Premier League’s charges against the defending champions, he said he would not wish punishment upon them, preferring to “smash them on the football field”. United have maintained their long tradition of youth development and promoting talent to the first-team level.. However, they have been challenged by a City academy setup that has combined strong on-pitch results with a healthy revenue strea...

I have nothing in particular against Manchester United, my response would be the same in relation any top club  (I support a League One team and a third tier non-league outfit]. I don’t think taxpayer money should be used to build or rebuild stadiums. I pay a substantial five figure sum in tax each year and I would be happy for some of it to go to grass roots sports, particularly to help youngsters to enjoy football and other sports. While much of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s round of media interviews on Wednesday, after his acquisition of 27.7 per cent of Manchester United was finally confirmed, may have excited United fans, there were more than a few elements that caused surprise. Among lines about “knocking Manchester City and Liverpool off their perch” and nice stories about chumming around with Sir Alex Ferguson, his comments on women’s team made them sound like an afterthought, merely offering that “if it’s a team wearing a Manchester United ba...

Newly-minted United shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe finally broke cover this week to outline his vision for the club after buying a minority stake. In an hour-long meeting with journalists, including Scoreboard, in London he talked through the bidding process that resulted in his $1.65bn investment, his immediate priorities, and his long-term aspirations. First on the agenda, fix the club’s shoddy recruitment strategy. United have spent big under the Glazers, but expensive signings have often disappointed. To do that, Ratcliffe wants to bring in top executives, and upgrade the club’s often-criticised culture. New chief executive Omar Berrada was the first in what will be a series of big hires. “We need to populate all the key roles with people who are best in class, 10 out of 10s”, said the chemicals billionaire. The message was that United’s off-field success as a commercial entity needs to be matched by challenging for trophies. “This is going to be a very sports-led club. It’s a...

The years of under-investment from the Glazers have left United fans with a decaying, second-rate stadium. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the new co-owner, is looking at the possibility of United building a 90,000-seater stadium, dubbed a “Wembley of the North” (ironically once a title claimed by Port Vale).    Building such a stadium, at a cost of £1.5 billion to £2 billion, next to Old Trafford is one of two options that Ratcliffe is considering. The other involves refurbishing or redeveloping the “Theatre of Dreams”, which would cost approximately £800 million. The new stadium would be located behind the Stretford End as United own a big stretch of land around the stadium which is used for either car parking or offices. The idea is not simply to build a new stadium but to create a new, lively area full of businesses, offices, bars, restaurants and a cinema. Ratcliffe will put some money towards the stadium — he has already committed £245 million to upgrading the club’s infrastr...