Emirates Old Trafford to complete 15-year development journey

Emirates Old Trafford has announced the up-and-coming launch of its new hotel extension and event space later this year, which will complete the £75m (€86.7m/$94.7m) redevelopment that has transformed the home of Lancashire Cricket Club over the past 15 years into a world class multi-purpose venue.

The latest new development at Emirates Old Trafford will be the extension of the Manchester venue’s on-site hotel, which first opened its doors in September 2017. The four-star Hilton Garden Inn will expand its capacity to 250 luxury bedrooms and see the addition of a new and dynamic event space, with the goal of cementing its place as an all-round destination for events.

Originally backed by Trafford Council in June 2021, the project as a whole includes a 1,025-seat stand, a heritage centre, a guest services hub, and a new retail store facing directly on to Brian Statham Way at the stadium.

The new stand, which replaces the Red Rose Suite, will include enhanced pitch-viewing facilities for Lancashire’s members, comprising a dual-aspect suite located within the spectator viewing terrace.

The new stand and restaurant on the first floor of the development, which also serves as an event/hospitality space, will be open in time for the stadium’s hosting of the Ashes Test between England and Australia from July 19-23. The rest of the hotel, including its rooms, will open in the autumn.

The investment will see the new and extended hotel integrate closer with the existing event spaces, opening further options for organisers and creating an event destination in its own right. The venue already includes The Point event space, which is column-free and has a capacity of up to 1,200.

Together, the finished Emirates Old Trafford, currently the setting for TheStadiumBusiness Summit 2023, will offer even more options for planners looking at multi-day events, large-scale conferences, experiential events, exhibitions, gala dinners and awards, incentives, and team building.

The venue has this week launched its new campaign – Destination Emirates Old Trafford – as it plays host to international events, including the men’s Ashes, and a variety of concerts, as well as high-profile conference and events throughout the year.

Arctic Monkeys recently played back-to-back nights at the venue, whilst the Foo Fighters have this week been confirmed for two nights in June 2024.  

Angela Hodson, sales director at Emirates Old Trafford, said: “We are so excited to launch our new development this year at Emirates Old Trafford as we believe this will take the venue to a completely new level. Not only will it grow our event space and bedroom capacity but also now the scale and breadth of options we can now offer our guests.

“Our campaign, Destination Emirates Old Trafford, is all about amplifying the unique experience that the venue can deliver both across our current on-site Hilton Garden Inn as well as our modern event spaces, including The Point.

“It’s about being a complete destination, which we feel it is. There is no Hilton Garden Inn in the world that has this capacity of flexible event space. Blending a global hotel brand with such large event spaces is a real affordable, high quality, unique selling proposition, unmatched across Europe.

“It’s also our opportunity to showcase the incredible and experienced team we have in place here at the venue, and also how we work with our guests to make the best possible experience for when they visit Emirates Old Trafford, whether that’s for cricket, a concert, staying in the hotel or for an event.”