Manchester United to build 100,000 seater stadium

Manchester United have announced plans to build the biggest stadium in the UK - an "iconic" new £2bn 100,000-seater ground close to Old Trafford.

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to build the "world's greatest football stadium" which the club hopes could be finished in five years.

United's decision came after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop the existing stadium or build a new one.

Old Trafford has been Manchester United's home since 1910.

Architects at Foster and Partners, who will design the project, said the stadium would feature an umbrella design and a new public plaza that is "twice the size of Trafalgar Square".

The design will feature three masts described as "the trident", which the architects say will be 200 metres high and visible from 25 miles away.

Manchester United, currently £1bn in debt, are yet to say how they plan to pay for the stadium.

It will form part of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area, predicted to be the biggest such project in the United Kingdom since the transformation of the Stratford area that accompanied the 2012 Olympics in London. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already given government backing to the plans.

United say the entire project has the potential to create 92,000 new jobs, will involve the construction of 17,000 homes and bring an additional 1.8 million visitors to the area annually. They add the project will be worth an additional £7.3bn per year to the UK economy.

"Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world's greatest stadium," said Ratcliffe.

"Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years but it has fallen behind the arenas in world sport.

"I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world."

The stadium will be built using pre-fabrication, shipped in 160 components along the neighbouring Manchester Ship Canal.

Criticism of Old Trafford - England's biggest club ground with a 74,140 capacity - has grown in recent years, with issues including leaks from the roof of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.

The stadium has not had significant development since 2006.

United have spoken to senior people involved in the most recent large-scale stadium developments, including the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the rebuild of Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium, as part of their background work.

They also spoke to local residents and conducted a fan survey to establish whether supporters would prefer a new build or extensive improvements to the present stadium, which was thought likely to cost £1.5bn.

It is not known what the plan will be for the present stadium, although senior club sources have previously said it would not be cost effective to shrink it for use as a home for United's women's and youth teams.

That’ll be a massive stadium for Championship football if they keep going they way they have been lately

That’ll be a massive stadium for Championship football if they keep going they way they have been lately

Seems they think they can attract investment to pay for it. It's going to cost £2bn. The club themselves are £1bn in debt.

It's an ambitious project for sure by them.

Could be downsides for them having such a big stadium though. Would mean the away allocation for cup games would be 15,000 - that's a lot of away fans for the security/police to have to deal with.

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) says it has plenty of questions around the planned stadium.
It wants to know how the club will pay for the ground but says the stadium news "could be very exciting".
MUST says: "Whilst investment is much-needed and welcome, fans remain anxious about what it means and what the consequences will be.
"Will it drive up ticket prices and force out local fans? Will it harm the atmosphere, which is consistently fans' top priority in the ground?
"If they are able to produce a new stadium as stunning as the plans suggest without harming the atmosphere and hiking ticket prices this could be very exciting."

Personally from outside it looks hideous.. I understand the canopy is for fans area ect but not for me..

That’ll be a massive stadium for Championship football if they keep going they way they have been lately

Seems they think they can attract investment to pay for it. It's going to cost £2bn. The club themselves are £1bn in debt.

It's an ambitious project for sure by them.

Could be downsides for them having such a big stadium though. Would mean the away allocation for cup games would be 15,000 - that's a lot of away fans for the security/police to have to deal with.

one thing for sure the glaziers are rubbing their hands and counting the $$$$$ ......

Personally from outside it looks hideous.. I understand the canopy is for fans area ect but not for me..

I disagree, I think it looks awesome.

Its a tourist and corporate build, not interested in the real fans. Though not sure what their season ticket waiting list is tbh

Its a tourist and corporate build, not interested in the real fans. Though not sure what their season ticket waiting list is tbh

Went a few years ago, for a Champions League game and I was surrounded by Asians and Arabs, who spent the whole game holding their phones up. They’re a tourist club now, nothing more. Feel a bit sorry for the genuine Manc fans.

Definitely the most impressive design I've ever seen for a stadium. Fair play.

I'll always prefer the old school grounds but this one is certainly eye catching.

Personally from outside it looks hideous.. I understand the canopy is for fans area ect but not for me..

I disagree, I think it looks awesome.

Looks as if someone as thrown a net curtain over it! But I'm sure the bowl will be impressive judging by pictures

Its a tourist and corporate build, not interested in the real fans. Though not sure what their season ticket waiting list is tbh

I think I read that the waiting list they have at the moment is about 125,000 people for their current stadium, which means it's a 25 year wait for those people.

I'm sure they have to pay around £40 a season just to be on the waiting list too.

It looks made of glass, the local window cleaner just hit the jackpot

Why not let everyone see what its like instead of making comments and nobody knows what the hell you are on about

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... w-31171751

Why not let everyone see what its like instead of making comments and nobody knows what the hell you are on about

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... w-31171751

You're right, should have put a picture of it on

Why not let everyone see what its like instead of making comments and nobody knows what the hell you are on about

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... w-31171751

You're right, should have put a picture of it on

Ned I understood what you were saying, it was all about the new stadium without decribing images it was all the other descriptions, that I had no idea about as I was completely
lost, I put it down to my age