[Chris Wheeler] 🔴 Utd set to abandon plans to keep OT if they build new stadium ⚫️ Proposal to scale it down for women & academy too costly 🔴 Munich memorials and statues could be incorporated into new campus ⚫️ OT redevelopment still an alternative
🔴 Utd set to abandon plans to keep OT if they build new stadium
⚫️ Proposal to scale it down for women & academy too costly
🔴 Munich memorials and statues could be incorporated into new campus
⚫️ OT redevelopment still an alternative https://t.co/K5YTmvQZCN via @MailSport #mufc— Chris Wheeler (@ChrisWheelerDM) September 18, 2024
by nearly_headless_nic
19 Comments
**Key bits:**
– United revealed their plans in the summer to scale down Old Trafford to a capacity of around 30,000 to preserve the history of the club and provide a venue for the women’s and academy teams.
– But **sources have told Mail Sport that they now realise it’s unlikely to work, and what is effectively a separate stadium project would be too complex and cost hundreds of millions of pounds.**
– **United will set up a heritage focus group to make sure the historical elements of Old Trafford are preserved if they do knock it down.**
– **United have also come to the conclusion that a 30,000-capacity is too high for the women’s and academy teams.** The women kick off the WSL season against West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday and only one stand will be open due to low ticket sales.
– **The club feel it would be better to build a 15,000-seater venue on site sometime in the future which could be increased in size as interest grows in the women’s team.**
– This assumes that United decide to follow Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s vision for a new stadium. The club’s co-owner said in the summer that he wants a final decision by the end of the year so work could be completed by around 2030.
– **Ratcliffe accepts that public funding is only likely to be made available to regenerate the area** **around Old Trafford** and **not to build the new stadium itself.**
**Article:**
# EXCLUSIVE Man United will demolish Old Trafford if they press ahead with £2bn plan to build Wembley of the North as club U-turn on idea to maintain old stadium for women’s and youth teams
* **The club considered a project to reduce Old Trafford from 75,000 to 30,000**
* **Sources have told Mail Sport the club realise the proposal is unlikely to work**
Manchester United are ready to abandon plans to keep Old Trafford if they build a new £2billion super-stadium next door.
It means United’s 114-year-old home will be bulldozed to the ground if they decide against redeveloping it and instead go with their preferred option of creating a 100,000-seater Wembley of the North.
United revealed their plans in the summer to scale down Old Trafford to a capacity of around 30,000 to preserve the history of the club and provide a venue for the women’s and academy teams.
But sources have told Mail Sport that they now realise it’s unlikely to work, and what is effectively a separate stadium project would be too complex and cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
Old Trafford holds huge sentimental value for United fans around the world with its Munich clock and tunnel commemorating the 1958 air disaster, as well as the statues of Sir Matt Busby, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jimmy Murphy and the United Trinity of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law.
United will set up a heritage focus group to make sure the historical elements of Old Trafford are preserved if they do knock it down.
Architects Foster and Partners are set to be appointed as masterplanners for the redevelopment of club-owned land around the ground and will need to find a way of integrating those elements into their design to ensure a brand new stadium isn’t soulless.
The latest twist in the future of Old Trafford comes as United prepare to email a survey to season-ticket holders and members on Friday to seek their opinions.
Some fans who might have been in favour of a new stadium if it involved keeping Old Trafford might now vote against.
https://preview.redd.it/ef7ajho4kppd1.png?width=1170&format=png&auto=webp&s=54c9831eb0165b1489dcd8945d2194d5357c0c2f
This would be a shame tbh but understandable when it comes to costs
I never believed that personally, just doesn’t seem realistically viable
In as much as OT has so much history and all but the reality is time has taken its toll on it and renovations unfortunately can’t bring it to the level of any of the modern stadia around the world. I believe old and new memories can be integrated into a new facility and fans can eventually warm up to it
I think it makes sense, would be waisting money running such a big stadium to never fill it at WSL games. In years to come, we will just forget about Old Trafford, just like anything else in life, people will want to cling on the past but eventually move on. Whats important right now is fixing the future.
The arguments presented make sense. It’s definitely a shame to knock it down, but it really has gotten too old. It’s a shame it was neglected up until this point where upgrades/repairs aren’t cost effective.
Better leave the tunnel & statues there. Scale it down from 75k to 5k/10k. And keep it in top condition.
With the academy & women’s team still playing there, that’d be a good way of paying homage
It would be heartbreaking, but if it means the resources can be better allocated to the new stadium then I’ll understand
Understandable but kinda shame,
when the new stadium done, who knows how much the women team popularity growth
Even Arsenal currently making Emirates as their women team home stadium for most if not all of their home fixtures
They make a lot of good points and they’re coming at this with a very logical viewpoint. It would be sad to see Old Trafford go but if it has be this way for a whole new stadium then fair enough. The statues, Munich clock and the tunnel have to stay, the history of the club cannot be lost in the new project, keep the stand names as well. But losing the rest so we can return to having the biggest and best in Europe once again is worth it.
Redeveloping is the best solution. Keeping OT is worth it
If a new stadium can’t be done without taxpayers paying for it, then there is no allure to a new stadium for me. Might aswell redevelop old trafford. Its simply unfair for taxpayers to fund something that will line the pockets of billionaires.
Ok all the more reason for me to visit it at least once
I’ve only been lucky enough to visit Old Trafford a couple of times so maybe my opinion doesn’t hold as much weight, but ask Arsenal fans do they wish they’d stayed at Highbury.
The building is historic but we’ve outgrown it and it would cost a fortune to preserve it. I’d prefer to invest that into a state-of-the art stadium that can meet the demand. Maybe more of us will be able to visit Old Trafford more if there’s actually tickets available
That’s a shame, but then again. It’s even more of a stark reminder to show how the Glazers have nosedived this club deep into the dirt.
I absolutely despise those putrid rodents and will curse them until the time comes when they eventually sell up. At least they’re looking at preserving the most important parts of the stadium, that’s good to hear.
Sad, but it makes sense. Would’ve loved to keep it for the youth academy and women’s team but it’s just too expensive it seems, we do need to move on from OT. Again, it hurts to see that it’s at the point of no return but I’m excited to see how the new stadium will turn out eventually.
There’s somewhat of an irony of leaving OT, despite all the history and memories. It is a remnant of the Glazers, going to a new stadium feels like we’re finally entering the modern era, starting a new chapter and turning a new page away from the Glazer fallout.
If United want to improve the popularity of their women’s team, then they have to start focusing on the team.
The women could easily fill a 30k stadium, or even bigger, every if United invested actual money into the side and the setup. Arsenal and Chelsea are selling a lot of tickets for their women’s sides and they have much smaller fan groups than we do.
I am surprised that scaling down the existing stadium will be more expensive than knocking it down and building it anew. However, if that is the case, it’s completely understandable. A newly built stadium will also likely be in better condition than a scaled down old stadium.