Being the nosey bleeder I am, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to attend the OT Regeneration Town Hall that took place in the International Suite a couple of weeks back. This was billed as an opportunity for fans to hear the latest on the future of Old Trafford, and I was hoping might provide some indication whether the club are leaning towards re-developing the existing stadium or building a new one from scratch.
After being held outside waiting in line until the permitted entry time and passing through security (slightly OTT I thought), we made our way into the suite where there were a few display boards set up accompanied by fancy 3D models detailing potential construction plans. There was seating for approximately 200 people facing several screens and a small platform from where the presentation would take place. The choice of music was a bit weird. I personally wouldn’t have opted for a disco-infused selection including Macho Man by Village People at 6.30pm on a Tuesday night, but then that’s just me.
The club’s Chief Operating Officer Collette Roche was the first to speak, welcoming guests and detailing the progress made since initial feasibility assessments commenced in April 2022. Since that date a strategic review has been taking place and an OTR Task Force (including the likes of Gary Neville, Andy Burnham and Seb Coe) formed in April this year. September 2024 saw stakeholder engagement begin (tonight’s meeting the first of many planned) and Foster & Partners appointed as the principal architects behind the project.
Aside from the ground re-development, the review has concluded that the project could potentially create a staggering 92,000 permanent jobs and 17,000 homes. There was little detail shared at exactly how they’ve arrived at these numbers, but they’re clearly thinking big. One of the main jobs of the Task Force is to seek outside investment to support the wider development with Roche acknowledging funding the stadium bricks and mortar falls on the club itself, “that’s on us”.
Transport infrastructure was brought up with Roche admitting that despite 3x Metrolink stops and a railway station in place within minutes of the ground, current facilities are unsatisfactory and there is huge room for improvement. This, of course, would require TfGM to be fully on board as well as the railway line operators. I wondered to myself how realistic plans for new facilities were bearing in mind it was the club’s choice to suspend services from the train station in 2018, the poor tram service despite multiple stations within walking distance and the 255F bus service on Chester Road only running intermittently since 2019.
Next up was Patrick Coleman from Foster & Partners who presented a series of expensively commissioned drawings on how the future state OT might look (predictably, lots of kids running around lovingly-curated green spaces amidst the steel, glass and concrete). Patrick was keen to stress that protecting the history and heritage of the club was of optimum importance, so we can rest assured the statues will be moved and the Munich clock won’t end up in a skip. Also, it’s perhaps worth noting that Foster & Partners designed new Wembley which was delivered years late and came in hugely over-budget.
The final speakers were Rick McGagh, a familiar face persisting with his Shed 7 haircut despite wearing a club suit these days and Dan Jones, a member of the OTR Task Force. Rick and Dan went through some of the findings of the fan survey that was circulated in September, although there was no opportunity to challenge them on some of the scarcely believable data it threw up. The claim that most season ticket holders are in favour of a new ground doesn’t match my personal experience, nor does the claim that desire is stronger amongst older fans with younger fans leaning towards redeveloping the current stadium.
A short Q&A session followed that barely scratched the surface of the wide range of questions submitted via an online portal. The club are keen to “invest in the atmosphere” (whatever than means), will “temperature check potential pricing” (before doubling them, no doubt) and “naming rights are under consideration”. Of course they are, and that honestly should be the least of our concerns. Given they’ve got 2 billion quid to raise from somewhere the fact we’ll likely be playing in the Ineos Bowl or the McDonalds Arena at some stage seems patently obvious.
In conclusion, whilst the scale and ambition of the plans are undoubtedly impressive, I just don’t see how they can possibly make this happen within the next decade. This isn’t like the other end of town where you had Abu Dhabi literally pouring money into the Eastlands development in an attempt to make as big a statement as possible. Getting national and local government, planning permission, housing, retail and transport infrastructure in perfect alignment seems a monumental task, and that’s before you even consider how the actual stadium will be funded.
One of the questions asked during the Q&A was how the club plan to balance this task alongside the financial burden of keeping the football team competitive, ie the regular multi-million £ signings that are required on an annual basis. All Collette Roche could offer was that the club were “exploring all funding options” and the chosen pathway was “ultimately the owners’ decision”. Other club’s have funded ground moves through a combination of loans and grants, but MUFC’s lines of credit are already stretched with debts approaching £800M.
Roche admitted the club was still at the start of this journey but was obliged to explore all possibilities given this was a “once in a generation opportunity”. I guess it is, but the reality is the old PLC drew up plans for building over the railway line over 20 years ago and presumably they’ve been left in a drawer untouched ever since. My gut feeling is we’ve got another few years of talking ahead of us before they’ll commit to anything tangible. In the meantime, the focus groups, task forces and Town Hall sessions can’t hide the fact that despite giving the impression they’re fully engaged with this project, it just doesn’t appear viable with the club’s finances in their current state.
Copyright Red News – December 2024
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