Man United are pushing ahead with plans to build a new 100,000-seater Old Trafford by 20230.
Manchester United have described developing a new Old Trafford as a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
United are optimistic of agreeing a deal to acquire land around Old Trafford for the new stadium project. The rail yard behind the Stretford End is owned by Freightliner and is considered crucial to the plans.
The club are optimistic of reaching an agreement to purchase the land in the next few months, while conversations are ongoing over the wider regeneration project and its benefits.
A study by Oxford Economics found that the project could add £7.3billion annually to the United Kingdom’s economy and create 92,000 jobs. The study predicted that the development has the potential to lead to 17,000 new homes and 1.8m additional visitors each year.
Collette Roche, the chief operating officer at United, recently sat down for an interview with the We Built This City podcast and described the project as a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
Roche said: “It’s very early in the journey, but it’s an amazing opportunity that we’ve got, not just for Manchester United, but for the region. Whilst we’ll build a stadium that’s great for our team and for the club and our fans, it’s so much more than that.
“When we looked at it, and we looked at the way it could be a catalyst, and we thought about the local area of Trafford, that used to be one of the best industrial areas at the start of the industrial revolution, but has been under-invested.
“We worked really closely with the local authority and thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to create a once in a lifetime project that would build, in effect, a big sports and entertainment district that will then join to Manchester.”
Roche added: “It’s become a regional project and probably will be one of the biggest in Europe. As such, it’s bigger than us at Manchester United. So, we needed to get support and work with a lot of stakeholders across Manchester and central government.
“It’s not just a Manchester United vision. It’s a vision for the region. It’s a vision for Trafford and it’s a vision for Manchester, and that’s why [Mayor] Andy Burnham and Trafford Council are really keen to work with us.
“There’s no point building the best and biggest stadium in the UK and it being on an island where you can’t get to it because the transport links aren’t there, or people can’t come on a non-match day, or local businesses can’t be part of.
“So our ask of the government is that they support, not the stadium build, but support the infrastructure and the regeneration of the area.
“And when we’ve looked at it really closely, it actually ticks so many boxes for the government around their growth strategy. So it’s very easy for us to use this as a catalyst to help deliver the government plans.”
Foster + Partners have been selected to design the new Old Trafford and the stadium district, but the architectural firm is waiting in the wings until the land is acquired from Freightliner.
United said: “Early design work has been intentionally paused until we have greater clarity on land assembly and fan requirements. As with other aspects of the project, we encourage fans to treat speculative media reports with caution.
“We remain excited by the vision set out by Foster + Partners for a new stadium at the heart of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area.
“We always said this was a conceptual design, with more detailed architectural work to follow. While we remain keen to advance as quickly as possible, the timetable is subject to progress on land assembly and financing, which depends on key stakeholders working together.”
In March, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said the project could be completed by 2030.
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2025-10-17 09:46:49
