United mull stadium seat licenses in new home

Image: Foster and Partners

The Premier League team Manchester United F.C. (UK) are considering introducing stadium seat licenses in their proposed new £2bn stadium.

‘BBC SPORT’ stated that the idea was mentioned in a document sent to the season ticket holders, the official members and the hospitality purchasers recently surveying preferred options for the 100,000-capacity arena United hope to build close to their home ground – the Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, England (UK).

The Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylized as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK). They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England (UK) and is the home of the Manchester United F.C. With a capacity of 74,197 it is the largest club football stadium (and the second-largest football stadium overall after the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London) in the United Kingdom and the 11^th-largest in Europe.

The Manchester United F.C. has announced plans to build the biggest stadium in the United Kingdom – an “iconic” new £2bn 100,000-seater ground close to the Old Trafford. Once construction is complete the club’s existing home is likely to be demolished.

‘BBC SPORT’ further stated that the seat licenses are an American concept and allow the supporters to pay a certain amount of money over an extended period of time to give them the right to buy the same seat.

It is envisaged only those fans intending to buy a season ticket would purchase a license. The club stress the supporters will be able to buy a season ticket without one.

United say no decision has been made on actual pricing but each part of the ground has been given an indicative season ticket price ranging from £570 for a general area ticket in the corner of the upper tier of the East Stand to £4,830 for the lower tier of the stand opposite the dugouts.

The indicative prices for the hospitality areas rise to £424,800 for a 16-seat large private box in the middle tier of the main stand level with the halfway line.

The United say testing a wide range of pricing options represents the best practice and that “exploring the possibility of the personal seat licenses (PSLs) could form part of the commercial case for the major investment which would be required to build a new stadium.”

A personal seat license (PSL) is a paid license that grants the holder the right to purchase the season tickets for a specific seat in a stadium or an arena. The PSLs are often sold to help finance stadium construction and typically allow the owner to transfer their right to another person if they choose to sell the license.

The fans have also been asked about the importance of safe standing and the location of the club’s museum.

There are plenty who question whether the new stadium will ever be built. Doubt has been cast on the viability of selling the required amount of corporate facilities to pay back the financing which is yet to be determined at a period of wider economic uncertainty and the team’s chronic form.

Even some inside the club acknowledge it is a tall order although they point to the Co-Owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ability to finalize the deals as a genuine reason for optimism.

However, more than six months after he first suggested there might be spades in the ground by the end of the year the United are not even close to being in a position to submit a planning application.

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