Manchester United leaning towards leaving Old Trafford and building new 100,000 capacity stadium

Manchester United are edging towards building a new stadium adjacent to Old Trafford at a cost of around £2billion.

A stadium taskforce, created by minority owner Jim Ratcliffe and chaired by Sebastian Coe, has met four times with the brief of determining whether the club should redevelop the existing stadium or move.

And while no definitive decision has been made – that will come by the end of the year – several reports this morning suggested the focus has been on building a new 100,000-seater ground from scratch.

It would be erected next to the current stadium, enabling United to continue generating existing revenue levels rather than having to close sections while construction work was carried out.

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Several issues relating to renovating Old Trafford, which has been the club’s home since 1910, include a railway line that runs across the back of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.

Who will pay for it?

The most contentious issue will be how the new build is funded.

Ratcliffe has said previously he would like to use taxpayers’ money and build a ‘Wembley of the North’ that would benefit the wider area.

He told the BBC in February: “If it can be achieved (with taxpayers’ money), it would clearly be my preference.

“I would be very excited for the north of England. Trafford Park is where the industrial revolution began. If you look at that region of Manchester today – only a mile from the centre – it is tired and neglected and parts are quite run down.

“There is quite a big argument, in my view, for regenerating that whole south side of Manchester. The nucleus of it would be building a new world-class state-of-the-art stadium which could take England games, the FA Cup final, Champions League finals. It could serve the north of England.”

Will United get the green light?

It is highly unlikely that Ratcliffe will get his wish although new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suggested public money could be used to improve transport links and infrastructure around the stadium site.

United are believed to have looked at other major sports stadia around the world for inspiration and information, including the revamped Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou, as well as SoFi in Los Angeles, where they lost 2-1 to Arsenal in a pre-season game on Saturday night.

SoFi took six years to build, from conception to completion, and that is the timeframe United are also working to.