LONDON: Manchester United on Tuesday announced that they plan to build a new two billion pound ($2.59 billion) 100,000-seat stadium, set to be the biggest in Britain next to Old Trafford, their existing home ground. “Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford,” United’s co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said in a statement.
If and when the stadium comes up, it’ll be an end of an era as United will move from their iconic Old Trafford ground to the new construction. The club unveiled architectural designs for the new stadium, which will feature an umbrella design as well as a construction that resembles the Devil’s trident, symbolizing their nickname the Red Devils.
“This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today,” Norman Foster, Foster + Partners’ executive chairman and the firm behind the new design said in a statement. “It all starts with the fans’ experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar. The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square.”
Old Trafford has not had any major redevelopment since 2006 and criticism of the 74,879-seat stadium, England’s biggest club ground, has grown in recent years, with issues around its leaking roof and recent rodent infestations.
Despite Old Trafford’s size, the club have fallen behind the likes of Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that host extra events and concerts to boost revenue – similar to what will be seen at Everton, who will leave Goodison Park at season’s end for their new venue at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Arch-rivals Manchester City moved into the Etihad Stadium in 2003 and are in the process of expanding the capacity to more than 60,000.
Agencies