Manchester United may pull down Old Trafford

Article posted by Coliseum, March 16^th, 2022

Image: MJR Group Ltd./Coliseum

The Premier League team Manchester United F.C. (UK) are considering all options with regard to updating their residence – Old Trafford in Stretford, England – including knocking the stadium down and building a new one on the same site.

‘The Guardian’ stated that while the bulldozing of the stadium would be unpopular with a sizeable proportion of fans, this is understood to be the least likely choice at the current juncture, with one significant obstacle being where the team would play their home games while the new venue was under construction.

The Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK), which competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.

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Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK), and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,140 seats, it is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom, and the 11^th-largest in Europe.

‘The Guardian’ further stated that other options may include razing and rebuilding Old Trafford’s South Stand or undertaking a complete revamp of the existing structure. Given the large footprint of the site, whatever choice is made the club’s wider vision may be to position the stadium as the center of a cultural and community hub, similar to Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium in North London, which opened three years ago and cost around £1bn.

Manchester United executives are in the process of fielding different ideas from companies who would tender to carry out any work on a venue that was first built in 1910. But until a master planner is appointed no concrete decision will be made, with the club having committed to consulting with supporters throughout the process.

No notable modernization of Old Trafford has occurred since the American businessman Malcolm Glazer bought the club in 2005 – the increased capacity to 75,000 via the quadrants built in 2006 was approved before the now-deceased American became proprietor.

Last month Collette Roche, United’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), discussed the future of Old Trafford with the club fans’ forum – “We have been assessing the capabilities of globally leading consultants who want to help us develop a masterplan for the modernization of Old Trafford, with the ultimate aim of improving the matchday experience for fans.”

She added, “We are hoping to appoint our preferred partners in the coming weeks. Following this, we will be able to formally kick off Phase One of the project, which will be focused on establishing the vision and objectives for the masterplan.”

United invested almost £20m in Old Trafford in 2019 – £11m was spent on improvements to accessible facilities, £4m on security and £4m on refurbishing hospitality locales.

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