Manchester United are exploring potential avenues to help build a brand new 100,000-capacity stadium.
Minority owners INEOS have already appointed a specialised task force to help plan and execute their prospective plans, with the title of 'Wembley of the North' already mooted. Rumoured to cost in the region of £6billion, reports suggest an announcement could be made by the end of this year.
Old Trafford has long been criticised for its dated nature amid 20+ years of tiny adjustments, with the Glazer family having almost failed to keep up with modern stadia in England. Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool have all adapted or built new home grounds and it is now thought the Red Devils could follow suit.
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How will United fund their new stadium?
A specialised task force has already been appointed to help plan and organise how Manchester United's new stadium will be financed. Lord Sebastian Coe, Collete Roche, Andy Burnham and Gary Neville are just some of the names who make up the team.
Estimated to cost well into the billions, sponsorship avenues have been touted, with MailSport suggesting Manchester United's front-of-shirt-sponsor Snapdragon could help facilitate funds for naming rights of the stadium. Research has shown English football fans are less aggrieved by stadiums being renamed, given the home of Arsenal is now known as the Emirates and local rivals Manchester City have long played their football at the Etihad.
There have also been some suggestions that Ratcliffe will go to the UK government to help facilitate funding, but those claims have since gone quiet. Whatever happens, United are likely to pay in both equity and debt, with low-interest loans a more feasible option to help their exciting plans.
Couldn't they just renovate Old Trafford?
Rusty, poor internet facilities, a leaky roof and rat-infested. Those are just some of the underlying problems with Old Trafford. Back in May, a huge waterfall gushed after Erik ten Hag's side lost to Arsenal from the East Stand roof. Not a pretty look.
The problem with rennovating for the Red Devils is that in 10 years time, they may have to do so again, as we are seeing with Fulham at Craven Cottage and with Liverpool at Anfield. Modern stadiums are forever changing and a new home for Manchester United would likely be safe for 80-100 years, you would imagine.
Tottenham Hotspur's state-of-the-art venue is the benchmark for sure and you also get the feeling US stadiums, the MetLife and the SoFi are attractive examples Ratcliffe will want to draw ideas from. A once best-in-class example has quickly fallen behind and INEOS wont want that tag sticking around for long.
Will fans be upset if Old Trafford is knocked down?
You get a real sense that this opinion is split amongst the Manchester United fan base. The area of Trafford has seen little development over the last 30 years, with just a few new builds more centred towards MediaCity and Wharfside. Hotel Football was also built by Gary Neville back in 2015.
It is a complicated area, especially given Manchester United do own most of the land behind the stadium, therefore opening up new avenues as to what they do in terms of a potential move. Some suggestion has been they continue to play at Old Trafford whilst the new stadium is being built behind, others feel they cannot move from their sacred home of the Theatre of Dreams.
"Old Trafford should stay in Trafford regardless of what happens," said The Athletic's Andy Mitten recently. "Consult the fans properly on it but it is pretty exciting, I have now been writing about this for twenty years. It is a big plot of land but the pubs around Old Trafford are dying on their arse around the ground.
"The local community should also completely be consulted on this, improve it as an area as well. You have a rail line that runs right through Gorse Hill which people from Gorse Hill can't use because there is no stop there. Old Trafford should have a stop there and there is a chance to do something big here."
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