Featured image credit: Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
The demolition of Old Trafford and building of a brand-new home venue is reportedly one of the options that has been presented to Manchester United by the businesses charged with leading its future stadium plans.
Legends International and Populous, who were appointed to run the project last year, have now presented their proposals to officials at the English Premier League club, according to the Daily Mail.
While progress is currently on hold until the club’s ownership is resolved, the suggestions presented included various plans to refurbish and expand Old Trafford as well as the construction of a new home, which would most likely be built on the acres of club-owned land surrounding the stadium.
Each of the two concepts was presented with various options with regards to details such as capacity. While no final costs have been presented, the concepts give an indication of the types of finance needed. The Mail report claims a new venue would cost more than £2bn, while even refurbishment and expansion of the 74,000-capacity Old Trafford would cost upwards of £1bn.
The Mail said that Manchester United declined to comment on the report.
As well as bringing in Legends and Populous, United has also appointed KSS to develop a masterplan for an expanded, state-of-the-art training facility for its men’s, women’s and academy teams. United announced plans to upgrade Old Trafford at the end of 2021, although so far no details on the scope or budget of the plans have been confirmed.
Meanwhile, rival Premier League club Chelsea could face the prospect of playing at Wembley for five years as they look at plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge.
Owner Todd Boehly committed to build a new stadium when taking over the club last year, with the demolition of Stamford Bridge and construction of a new ground at the same site most likely. However, the Mirror newspaper claims there are fears it could take up to five years to complete what would be a project made more complex due to the proximity of rail lines and buildings.
In October 2022, Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein said the club is aiming to commence the planning process to redevelop Stamford Bridge “during the course of the next year”.
Tottenham Hotspur played at Wembley for almost two seasons between 2017 to 2019 during the period that their new stadium was being built on the site of their old White Hart Lane ground.
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