Manchester United and Old Trafford: Should the club build a new 100,000-capacity stadium?

On Monday it was revealed by The Athletic that Manchester United are hoping to build a 100,000-seater stadium near the site of their Old Trafford home.

Our United writers discuss the news on the latest episode on the Talk of the Devils podcast; here is an abridged version of what they had to say.

You can listen to the full episode for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all the usual podcast platforms by following this link.

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Laurie Whitwell: So we’ve got a sense that a new stadium is the preference, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made no secret of that. He wants a kind of campus feel which we’ve seen here in Los Angeles with the SoFi Stadium and what Stan Kroenke and the local authorities have been able to produce. A renovation of the ground will cost maybe £1billion, but that comes with its own issues in terms of having to renovate stands as you go and a temporary reduction in the capacity of Old Trafford, where United have 51,000 season ticket holders.

Ian Irving: We’ve seen lots of teams change stadiums in recent years, and it generally takes time to build up any sort of sense of of self in those grounds. So it’s going to be a key issue for United considering the long history of Old Trafford. 

Whitwell: The process is being led by the task force, which is chaired by Sebastian Coe. You’ve got Andy Burnham (the mayor of Greater Manchester) on there, plus Gary Neville, and you’ve got people connected to the local authorities as well. Collette Roche is the club’s chief operating officer and she has been leading talks about stadium plans for a couple of years now, but it feels like Ratcliffe wants a kind of full recommendation by the end of the year. Clearly, there’s going to have to be consultation with fans, and there is going to be a sub-task force created, including the likes of Duncan Drasdo, who’s the CEO of Man United Supporters Trust.

The transport links will need improving, which raises a question about whether it becomes a public-private partnership where the government becomes involved. We saw Keir Starmer, the new prime minister, at Old Trafford in May to have that kind of discussion with the club. So it feels a significant development where, OK, now the progress is towards a new stadium.

Andy Mitten: It is the key issue for the next decade, and heritage is important. Supporters are going to use the stadium if it’s a new one or if it’s redeveloped but they’ve got to be properly consulted on this. Something needs to be done, though. Old Trafford is not big enough and has been left to slide for the last 20 years. It’s still a very good stadium, but as we saw here on Saturday, stadium technology has moved on massively.

Architecturally, the SoFi Stadium completely blew my mind. It is miles, miles bigger than Old Trafford because there’s so much space. You’ve got so much space between your seats. And I’m not even advocating that with enthusiasm, because I quite like the fact that people are cramped up inside Old Trafford, but there are elements to it. The bottom line is that something needs doing. This is Ratcliffe’s major project. This is the thing I think he wants to be remembered by.

Whitwell: Legacy stuff, isn’t it?

Mitten: And fortunately there is land around Old Trafford and some of it is very desirable. This isn’t the problem that Chelsea have or that Arsenal had when they wanted to leave Highbury. There is land here. Old Trafford stays in Old Trafford, whether it’s a new stadium or a redevelopment. You need to consult the fans properly on it and ask them what they want, but it’s pretty exciting. I’ve been writing about this (the stadium situation) for 20 years. We’re not at the stage where cranes are in place yet but there’s a genuine momentum here.

Irving: The big question is how it’s going to be financed. Obviously, that will need to be addressed seriously as we move forward, but it could be the best part of a decade before we see Manchester United in a new stadium.

Carl Anka: Here’s a cheeky, thought-provoking question. Was Alex Ferguson the last Manchester United manager to win the Premier League trophy at Old Trafford? Imagine the 2013 side were the last United team to win the league at Old Trafford.

Whitwell: How do we feel about this? Because I’ve advocated for staying Old Trafford if it can be done. You’ve kind of changed your mind, haven’t you, Andy? In terms of the new build, you can see the reasons for it, future-proofing it. That’s why the naming rights…

Irving: … are going to be a potential issue.

Whitwell: But will fans be OK with that if it means that they’ve got a stadium that they are then proud of, and they really do enjoy going to? Then again, as Andy said, you don’t want to lose sight of what still makes Old Trafford a really enjoyable place to watch football. It’s got a great atmosphere when it’s lively.

Anka: My opinion is that when Andy Burnham turned up before United beat Everton partway through last season and explained how the task force would work, that was a huge indicator that the direction of travel was headed towards a total rebuild, plus the way Burnham was describing creating the sort of campus you described above. So you have a stadium, you have another smaller ground, you have an arena, and you have greater transport links to the city centre.

That is a huge amount of growth, not just for Manchester United, but Manchester as a city. That’s thousands of new jobs potentially coming to the city as well. Why not try and future proof yourself and try and make whatever you build last the next 50 years? You can refurb Old Trafford for £1billion now, but at some point in time you’ll probably have to refurb it again for another billion. So why not just do it all at once? At the same time, you’ve got to make sure your locals aren’t feeling left out. Already this morning. I’ve had two or three United fans asking, ‘Is it still going to be called Old Trafford?’ So that is going to be a huge consideration.

Mitten: I did a piece a few weeks ago for The Athletic about the naming rights. I don’t think it’s the issue it was 20 years ago. Maybe Old Trafford can be kept, maybe it can be a secondary stadium if needed. But the local community should be consulted on this and the development should improve it as an area for people to live in as well. You’ve got a railway line which runs right through Gorse Hill, which people from Gorse Hill can’t use because there’s no stop there. Old Trafford should have a stop! There’s a chance to do something big here. I don’t know what it looks like, but I’m glad something is going to be done because it has been too long.

(Top photos: Getty Images)