Manchester United have announced plans for a new £2bn, 100,0000-seater stadium next to Old Trafford
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Conceptual image of what the new Manchester United stadium and surrounding area could look like have been released
Conceptual image of what the new Manchester United stadium and surrounding area could look like have been released
(Image: Foster + Partners/PA Wire)
Manchester United have announced plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium. Proposals for an ‘iconic’ £2billion development close to Old Trafford were unveiled on Tuesday.
Hot on the heels of a round of interviews given by minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a man handed oversight over football strategy with his 27.7% stake purchase in December 2023, the club revealed the plans for a new home, one that they hope will transform their fortunes on and off the pitch well into the future.
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Following an extensive consultation process to determine whether or not it was better to redevelop Old Trafford, the club’s home since 1910, or commit to a new build, the decision was made to press ahead with the latter, although it will be a costly development at a time when debt financing is not cheap.
“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world's greatest stadium,” said Ratcliffe in the accompanying announcement on the plans.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years but it has fallen behind the arenas in world sport.
“I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world.”
Ratcliffe isn’t wrong, the club has fallen behind its rivals both on and off the pitch, and the stadium has become something of a relic in the European game at a time when new, state of the art arenas have been cropping up with regularity at home and abroad.
Last week, UEFA published its annual European Club Finance and Investment Report that looked at the financial health of the game across the top levels on the continent. United remain one of the world’s biggest clubs, but they are being caught financially, and at a time when they are failing competitively they need to take some significant steps to futureproof themselves and ensure the decline isn’t terminal.
The report showed that in 2009, United sat second when it came to matchday revenue, delivering €128million (£99million at today’s exchange rate), with Real Madrid having been top of the pile at €132million (£102.1million).
For United, in the intervening 16 years, the needle has barely moved, with the club dropping to fifth on the list with a sum of €129million. During that same period, Real Madrid have stretched their lead out to €185million after redeveloping the Santiago Bernabeu.
With clubs having engaged in rebuilds or redevelopment across Europe, the likes of Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have doubled their matchday revenues, while Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium build has seen them climb to sixth on the list, with gate revenue rising from €33million at White Hart Lane in 2009, to €123million at their new home in 2024.
Chelsea, like United, have remained in situ at a stadium they have now outgrown, and they have also suffered a similar fate, dropping from fifth to 10th on the UEFA list.
At a time when broadcast rights are showing some signs of plateauing in terms of value, something that has the potential to create major problems for clubs in the future, the need to reduce reliance on broadcast income and diversify revenue streams has become increasingly important for clubs, and for Manchester United that is no different.
In terms of growth, United’s stood at 21% over the course of the past five years when it came to matchday revenue. In comparison, Real Madrid grew 24%, PSG 46%, Arsenal 40% and Spurs 33%. United being absent from some seasons in the Champions League was impactful when it came to revenue due to the lack of games played and the revenue attributed.
Old Trafford has a capacity of 74,310. A new stadium build is some 26,000 in additional capacity, and United know that despite all the challenges competitively, they still have pent up demand and can sell-out a stadium of 100,000 regularly. To put it into some context, the additional capacity is the same as adding a stadium the size of Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park to the matchday revenue pot, and that is not insignificant.
A new Old Trafford is required for United to be competitive, and there are few global sporting brands that can continue to leverage their size and status despite competitive struggles in the way that United can. A new home will add significant revenue streams and allow them to continue to invest within the confines of financial controls, but the challenge will be allocating those additional funds wisely.