Manchester United plans to leave Old Trafford after 114 years
Manchester United are working on plans to move out of Old Trafford and into a new stadium they will build.
The Theatre of Dreams has been United's home for 114 years but plans to develop a new stadium mean it'll be time for a change at the club.
The Athletic reports that United aims to build a stadium with 100,000 seat capacity and that new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe would prefer a new stadium over the redevelopment of Old Trafford as it would allow the club to play throughout the years of construction.
Attempts to renovate the existing stadium would hamper capacity for periods of time as stands would need to be closed periodically, and this may cause an issue with the club having enough space for their season ticket holders.
Advert
Old Trafford's capacity is 74,310, making it the largest in the Premier League, but with over 50,000 season ticket holders any closures to the stands would become a problem.
The cost of building a new stadium could be as high as £2 billion, or even higher since it's a rare construction project that doesn't encounter expensive issues along the way.
It could take six years to build this new stadium, during which time Manchester United would continue to play at Old Trafford.
Though a venerable part of the Premier League club's history, Old Trafford has been showing its age in recent years as the facilities have looked a little more worn out compared to some newer stadiums from their rivals.
A common complaint among United fans is that the roof leaks something fierce, a somewhat embarrassing spectacle for the club and one that some fans have taken as symbolic of a chronic lack of infrastructure investment over the years.
The options that lay before United are to either persist with Old Trafford and ignore that it is in clear need of a renovation, upgrade the stadium which will take years and require stand closures or build a proposed new stadium.
According to The Athletic, a task force set up to explore options for United's stadium is currently focused on what a newly built stadium would look like after Gary Neville raised the issue of architectural design.
They report there are concerns that a new stadium could look too modern, and that Old Trafford's distinctive red brickwork and roof style could be recreated in a new ground.
Meanwhile, The Sun claims an announcement on a new stadium would be made in December.
Of course with such high costs there is the question of where the money is going to come from.
Manchester United already has high debts from the Glazer ownership of the club, while money from Ratcliffe going into the club could be used to buy more of a stake than his existing one.
Selling the naming rights to a stadium is seen as one potential way to obtain financing.
Meanwhile, there's also the question of what Manchester United would call this proposed new stadium, New Trafford perhaps?
Topics: Football, Sport, Manchester United
Joe Harker