Manchester United says it will build “a new future on familiar ground” with a stadium to replace Old Trafford. The club announced its intentions to build a 100,000-seat stadium, instead of redeveloping their long-time home to a potential maximum capacity of 87,000.
Foster + Partners, a London-based architecture firm, will take the lead on the development.
The new venue would be the centerpiece of a redeveloped Trafford Wharfside area, and the club claims the project will generate an additional £7.3 billion ($9.44 billion based on current exchange rates) to the U.K. economy. Yet questions remain about how the project will be funded—including how much government money would be required, or available.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport,” Jim Ratcliffe, the club’s control owner, said in a statement.
Old Trafford broke ground in 1909 and opened a year later. The venue has undergone multiple renovations, with the most recent being an 8,000-seat expansion that took place between 2005 and 2006 and increased capacity to 74,194.
Manchester United remains the world’s most valuable soccer club but has been mired in losses both on and off the pitch in recent seasons. In February, the club said it plans to lay off 150-200 employees, adding to the 250 cuts made last year. United CEO Omar Berrada said it would be unable to invest in improvements to the roster as well as new facilities if it continued to hemorrhage money.
The cumulative net losses over the last five seasons total £377 million ($470 million). Additionally, Man United posted an 11% decline in revenue in their first-half financial results, which stemmed from playing in the Europa League in 2024 versus Champions League in 2023.
At 9-7-12, the Red Devils are 14th in the 20-team Premier League.
The club has been mulling a stadium renovation or new building for some time. In August, ESPN wrote that the club could potentially sell naming rights for a new stadium to Qualcomm, which became a Man United global partner in 2022.
In the report, Qualcomm’s CMO Don McGuire said that while the company has been working with the club on revamping the technology infrastructure at Old Trafford, “if that leads to something bigger, where it would make sense for us to go even bigger … we are always looking out for opportunities.”
Qualcomm signed a three-year jersey sponsorship deal with Manchester United for its Snapdragon brand for around $75 million per season in 2023. In August, that pact was extended through 2029.