MANCHESTER UNITED have announced plans to build a brand new 100,000-seater super stadium under a vast “umbrella” near Old Trafford.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s vision of a £2 BILLION ‘Wembley of the North’ will stand as the centrepiece of a wider government regeneration of the Trafford Park area.
The legendary 115-year-old Theatre of Dreams has provided the backdrop to the biggest moments in English football history.
But an Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force – organised by minority owner Ratcliffe – has confirmed plans to demolish it and build a brand new home on adjacent land.
United’s decision came after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop the existing stadium from a capacity of 74,000 to 87,000 or build a new one.
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”.
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Three giant towers, inspired by the Red Devils’ trident, will dominate the skyline and hold up the “umbrella” – a sweeping glass and steel canopy above that will keep fans dry inside and outside what would be Britain’s biggest stadium.
A series of spectacular drawings show that the new Old Trafford would be pushed back from the site of United’s existing stadium.
Their own, tree-lined version of Wembley Way would stretch from beyond the current Holy Trinity statue, to well inside the existing Old Trafford with land currently used for a car park and freight terminal behind the Stretford End coming in to play.
United have ambitiously proposed that it will be completed within five years, which aligns with Ratcliffe’s previous vision of 2030.
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The planned stadium would become the largest in the UK – overtaking Wembley, which has a capacity of 90,000.
A huge wraparound scoreboard also features, along with a three-storey museum and canal-side restaurants as part of a vast fan village.
The struggling Premier League club will fund the ground itself, while the UK government will help support the wider park area around the stadium.
But United, currently £1 billion in debt, are yet to say how they plan to pay for the stadium.
Under-fire co-owner Ratcliffe said: “Today marks the start of an
incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.
“By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.”
United’s plans of building a new state-of-the-art arena – which would be the second largest football ground in Europe behind the revamped Nou Camp- received a major boost in January when the proposal received the backing of the government.
The stadium, and wider regeneration project, has the potential to deliver an additional £7.3billion-per-year to the UK economy.
The complex will boast a major transport hub as well as dedicated premises for sports, educational, entertainment and business.
Other communal benefits include more than 17,000 new homes as well as driving an additional 1.8 million visitors annually.
And their plans to re-shape the area would create more than 92,000 job opportunities.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already given government backing to the plans.
The architect company is led by the award-winning architect Lord Norman Foster, a close pal of Ratcliffe’s who is currently overseeing the revamp of United’s Carrington training base.
Offering some details about the plans, Lord Foster, said: “The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square.
“The outward-looking stadium will be the beating heart of a new sustainable district, which is completely walkable, served by public transport, and endowed by nature.
“It is a mixed-use miniature city of the future – driving a new wave of growth and creating a global destination that Mancunians can be proud of.”
Foster and Partners designed the new Wembley, which opened in 2007, and the Lusail Stadium, the venue for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.
The government has identified infrastructure investment as a strategic priority, particularly in the north of England.
The announcement comes a day after Ratcliffe’s bombshell interview with regeneration Task Force member Gary Neville.
While discussing the club’s current plight on the pitch, Sir Jim insisted that Man Utd will fund the stadium itself themselves.
He said: “We can build a stadium. We don’t need any government funding for that stadium, but it has to be the underpin for the regeneration.
“The only basis upon which we can build a new one is if it is part of this government regeneration scheme for south Manchester, because we can’t afford to regenerate southern Manchester, that’s too big a bill for the club.”
So United will deliver the stadium while the the Mayoral Development Corporation will support the wider regeneration of Trafford Park.
‘Club must be brave’ – Sir Alex
Sir Alex Ferguson urged fans to be brave and accept Old Trafford’s fate while backing the decision.
The legendary British manager, 83, said: “Manchester United should always strive for the best in everything it does, on and off the pitch.
“And that includes the stadium we play in. Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally.
“But we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a
new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made.”
And Lord Sebastian Coe said these plans are the most exiting urban regeneration project in the UK since the London 2012 Olympic village.
Part of the feasibility study included a survey of more than 50,000 Man Utd season ticket-holders, members, and executive club members which found more than half favoured a new stadium.
Leadership figures involved in the new stadium also stressed its wider benefits for the local area and its economy, as well as the wider North West.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham added: “Manchester United could, and indeed should, have the best football stadium in the world.
“To me, that means a stadium that is true to the traditions of the club, affordable to all, with nobody priced out, and a stadium that sets new standards in the game globally.
“I believe this vision can be realised, and if so, the benefits for Greater Manchester, the North West and the country will be huge.”
Growing criticism of current Old Trafford
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.
Criticism of Old Trafford has grown in recent years, with issues including leaks from the roof of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.
The decision comes just two days after United fans held the largest protest since Ratcliffe was brought in last year.
More than 5,000 supporters gathered outside Old Trafford before United’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal, in protest against the club’s ownership.
Viral videos showed hundreds chanting: “Sell United and f*** off home” leading up to the iconic stadium.
Scores of flares were set off as fans dressed in black sang abusive songs towards co-chairman Joel Glazer and Ratcliffe, who has spent £1.3bn for a 28.94 per cent stake in the club.
The 1958 spokesperson Steve Crompton has claimed that the club is “dying” and is “facing financial Armageddon”.
Today’s decision also comes a day after Ratcliffe revealed that the club have “no money left”.
Defending his controversial cost-cutting, Britain’s richest man claimed the club was on track to run out of cash this year.
The Red Devils recently announced they had lost more than £300million over the past three years, highlighting their financial troubles.
United have made cost-cutting measures across the board since Ineos secured a minority stake last year, including cutting the workforce by 250 people last year.
The stadium has not had significant development since 2006.
Why will it only take FIVE YEARS?
Lord Foster, 89, explained why the reduced timeline has been made possible in a second video posted by the club on Tuesday.
He shared how stadium constructors plan to build “arguably the largest public space in the world”.
The Task Force will manufacture components off-site and use the city’s existing features to assemble them on-site.
United plan to use the Manchester Ship Canal, a 36-mile-long waterway linking the city to the Irish sea, to transport parts of the stadium to the existing Old Trafford site.
In the video, Foster said: “Normally a stadium would take ten years to build. We halved that time, five years.
“How do we do that? By prefabrication, by using the network of Manchester Ship Canal, bringing it back to a new life.
“Shipping in components, 160 of them, Meccano-like. And then we rebuild the Old Trafford station, and that becomes the pivot, the processional way to the stadium, welcoming and at the heart of a new sports-led neighbourhood.
“It’s walkable, it’s well-served by public transport. It’s endowed by nature. It learns from the past, it creates streets. It’s a mix-use mini-city.”
At United’s unveiling of the stadium Ratcliffe added: ‘We can build a stadium much more quickly (than the conventional ten-year timeframe).
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“There are yards that build structures and are then shipped to locations around the world.
“The thing that allows us to do that is the Manchester Ship Canal. That halves the time.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
