Manchester United have announced their plans for a new stadium, which co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has touted as “the most iconic in the world”.
The ground’s design is rather unique, featuring a massive umbrella covering a public plaza that will be “twice the size of Trafalgar Square”. It will be attached to three masts, the tallest of which will reach up to 200m, to represent the Red Devils’ trident.
The club say the project will be the centrepiece of a regeneration of the wider Trafford Wharfside area and will bring in an estimated £7.3 billion per year to the UK economy.
A club statement claims it will bring “large-scale social and economic benefits to the community and wider region, including the possible creation of 92,000 new jobs, more than 17,000 new homes as well as driving an additional 1.8 million visitors annually”.
Everything we know about the new Manchester United new stadium so far
What will be the stadium’s capacity?
The stadium will hold around 100,000 spectators, which would make it the largest stadium in the UK.
Where is the new stadium going to be built?
The new ground will be built next to where Old Trafford currently sits.
When will construction start?
No start date has been confirmed, but Ratcliffe has suggested they will break ground once the UK Government begins the regeneration of the local area. “It depends how quickly the Government gets going with the regeneration programme. I think they want to get going quite quickly,” Ratcliffe said. More on that later.
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How long will it take to build the stadium?
Architect Lord Norman Foster, who designed the stadium’s plans, says it will take five years to complete construction. Ratcliffe says it will come together quicker than normal as it is a modular build, with the stands constructed elsewhere before being transported along the Manchester canal and lodged into place like Lego bricks. A target date of 2030 has been set, with 2032 the latest date for it to open.
Where will Manchester United play while the new stadium is being built?
The men’s first team will continue to play at Old Trafford while construction is ongoing.
What will happen to Old Trafford?
United’s home since 1910, Old Trafford will be demolished once the new stadium has been completed. It has previously been suggested that the ground could be shrunk and used by the women’s team, but the BBC claim that senior club sources have told them that is not feasible.
What will the new stadium be called?
This is yet to be confirmed. It’s likely that the naming rights will be sold off, a la the Emirates Stadium or Etihad Stadium, which could earn the club tens of millions per year.
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How much will it cost to build the new stadium?
The full cost is yet to be disclosed, but it has previously been estimated that the bill will come to around £2bn.
How will the new stadium be financed?
It remains unclear how United intend on funding the project, although Ratcliffe does not believe it will be a problem.
“The financing is not the issue, I think it’s eminently financeable. But the detail of that we’d rather talk about in the future. It will be financeable, I think,” he said.
Ratcliffe insists that the club will not need government support to pay for it, but said public money will be necessary to make improvements to infrastructure that a new stadium requires, as part of the wider regeneration project.
During his media blitz on Monday prior to the stadium announcement, he said: “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.
“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.”
A Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News reporter Rob Harris that no public funds have been committed to the project. Labour MP and Chancellor Rachel Reeves has previously expressed her support for the project.
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