The club has unveiled the new details about the project
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Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider generation of Old Trafford
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider generation of Old Trafford
(Image: Foster + Partners)
Manchester United has unveiled its plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium at Old Trafford which is set to be totally transformed.
The club says the new stadium, and the wider regeneration project, has the potential to deliver an additional £7.3bn per year to the UK economy. This includes creating up to 92,000 new jobs, more than 17,000 new homes and attracting an extra 1.8m visitors every year.
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The first images of the new stadium and surrounding area have now been revealed as architects Foster + Partners unveil their design.
Lord Norman Foster, the legendary Mancunian architect behind the designs, has also shared further details about the major project.
This includes how long it would take to build the stadium, what features it would have and what else is planned in the area around it.
Here's everything we know so far about the plans.
The stadium
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider generation of Old Trafford
The stadium would cultivate a 'huge roar'(Image: Foster + Partners)
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said the new football stadium would be the 'world's greatest' as he unveiled the plans.
It comes as the club announces its 'intention to pursue' a new build stadium which Sir Jim says would be built next to the existing site.
Lord Foster, whose architectural firm is behind the design, said the new stadium would bring fans 'closer than ever' to the pitch.
Acoustically, the stadium would cultivate a 'huge roar', Lord Foster says, and it would be contained by a vast umbrella which would harvest solar energy and rainwater while sheltering a new public plaza that would be twice the size of London's Trafalgar Square.
The stadium would also have three 200m high masts - which Lord Foster dubs 'the Trident' - which would be visible from 40km.
Images of the new 100,000-seater also depict music concerts being hosted at the stadium as well as other events in the public plaza.
What else?
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider regeneration of Old Trafford
Plans for an 'open cinema' in the Old Trafford area
More than 17,000 new homes are planned as part of the project which promises to create a 'mini city' around the new stadium.
Images shared by the club show a new linear park, open cinema and market around the site as well as a 'museum of football' within the umbrella of the stadium.
Lord Foster has revealed that the train station would be rebuilt to make it the 'pivot' and 'processional' way to the new stadium.
He said: "The outward-looking stadium will be the beating heart of a new sustainable district, which is completely walkable, served by public transport, and endowed by nature.
"It is a mixed-use miniature city of the future – driving a new wave of growth and creating a global destination that Mancunians can be proud of."
Sir Jim has said that the 'social and economic renewal' of the Old Trafford area is 'just as important' as the new stadium itself.
This includes the 'possible creation' of 92,000 new jobs which Sir Jim said will be on a lasting basis, not just during the construction.
When will it happen?
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider regeneration of Old Trafford
The railway station is also set to be rebuilt
The club is yet to confirm when the new stadium would be built. However, Lord Foster has revealed how long the work would last.
The architect who grew up in Manchester and whose father worked at Trafford Park, said a stadium normally takes 10 years to build.
But thanks to 'pre-fabrication' - which means that parts of the stadium will be built off site - this has been halved to five years.
He said: "Normally a stadium would take 10 years to build. We halved that time - five years.
"How do we do that? By pre-fabrication. By using the network of Manchester Ship Canal, bringing it back to a new life, shipping in components - 160 of them, Meccano-like."
Sir Jim has previously indicated that the club will have to wait until at least 2030 before moving into the new 'iconic' stadium.
How much will it cost?
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider generation of Old Trafford
The stadium would feature three masts(Image: Foster + Partners)
The club is yet to confirm how much the project will cost, but the Manchester Evening News has previously reported estimates of £2bn for the stadium alone.
Sir Jim had previously suggested the government should contribute towards the project aimed at creating a 'Wembley of the North'.
It comes as the club has lost £300m in the past three years, putting United in danger of breaching the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules.
Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the government would support the project, but did not say how.
Ministers later ruled out paying towards the costs of building a new stadium.
The M.E.N. understands that support could come in the form of funding to build new housing in the area.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has also been lobbying for a freight train terminal that is currently on the site to be moved elsewhere, freeing up land for the development while potentially removing freight trains from Manchester city centre's railways.