Manchester United have announced plans to build an ‘iconic’ new £2billion 100,000-seater stadium in the United Kingdom, close to the Old Trafford.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to build the “world’s greatest football stadium” which the club hopes could be finished in five years.
United’s decision came after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop the existing stadium or build a new one.
Old Trafford has been Manchester United’s home since 1910.
Architects at Foster and Partners, who will design the project, said the stadium would feature an umbrella design.
Lord Norman Foster, the company’s executive chairman, said: “This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today. 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.”
Manchester United, currently £1billion in debt, are yet to say how they plan to pay for the stadium.
It will form part of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area, predicted to be the biggest of such project in the United Kingdom since the transformation of the Stratford area that accompanied the 2012 Olympics in London.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already given government backing to the plans.
United said the entire project has the potential to create 92,000 new jobs as it will involve the construction of 17,000 homes and bring an additional 1.8 million visitors to the area annually.
They added that the project will worth an additional £7.3billion per year to the UK economy.
“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest stadium,” said Ratcliffe.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years but it has fallen behind the arenas in world sport.
“I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world.”
Criticism of Old Trafford – England’s biggest club ground with a 74,140 capacity – has grown in recent years, with issues including leaks from the roof of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.
The stadium has not had significant development since 2006.
United have spoken to senior people involved in the most recent large-scale stadium developments, including the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the rebuild of Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium, as part of their background work.
They also spoke to local residents and conducted a fan survey to establish whether supporters would prefer a new build or extensive improvements to the present stadium, which was thought likely to cost £1.5billion.
It is not known what the plan will be for the present stadium, although senior club sources have previously said it would not be cost effective to shrink it for use as a home for United’s women’s and youth teams.
Foster and Partners designed the new Wembley Stadium, which opened in 2007, and the Lusail Stadium, the venue for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.
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