MANCHESTER UNITED are considering selling the naming rights to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have played there for 114 years and the stadium has never been named after a sponsor.
But new chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has proposed the idea in an attempt to increase the club’s revenue.
The British billionaire, who is now in charge of football operations at Man Utd, wants to refurbish Old Trafford with it in desperate need of improvement amid the roof leaking.
Ratcliffe is also open to potentially building a new stadium as he eyes a “Wembley of the North”.
To help raise funds for the redevelopment and the possible new home, selling the stadium naming rights is viewed as an option.
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Club chiefs have held talks with the Bank of America over funding for the multi-billion pound project.
The Athletic report that one proposal is for Old Trafford to keep its historic name but to have a brand as an associated partner – similar to Wembley Stadium’s deal with EE.
They supposedly pay £10million every year to sponsor the arena.
And should an entirely new ground be built, United would like to find a company for it to be named after as it will raise tens of millions.
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Ratcliffe believes refurbishing Old Trafford will cost £1bn and a new home could need over £2bn of funding.
A ticket price increase has also been suggested to help raise revenue.
The club controversially increased the cost of season tickets by five per cent for the coming season.
And reports suggest that further price hikes have been discussed.
Fans have slammed the idea, with one saying: “Crikey, what a horrible decision that would be.”
Another added: “Ticket prices have already risen in the past few seasons despite woeful results on the pitch. How about they find other sources to milk like the Premier League and broadcasting companies rather than the fans.”
A third raged: “Don’t you dare Jim.”
More reacted: “Trash this idea asap.”
Ratcliffe has pumped £238m into the club since acquiring his 27.7 per cent stake.
And £120m has been put aside for improving infrastructure.
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But financial results from March show the club still has £653m of debt – not including transfer fees still owed.
With them needing to balance the books, Erik ten Hag’s transfer budget for this summer is under £50m.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
