The club unveiled its plans for the 100,000-seater today
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Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider regeneration of Old Trafford
Manchester United's plans for a new 100,000 seat stadium and wider regeneration of Old Trafford
(Image: Foster + Partners)
Manchester United have unveiled plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium at Old Trafford that is estimated to cost around £2bn.
The club has announced its 'intention to pursue' building the new stadium which it says will be at the 'centrepiece' of plans to regenerate the area. It comes after the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force also looked at plans to refurbish the existing stadium.
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United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said the new club's new home would be 'world's greatest football stadium' and 'truly state-of-the-art'.
But the announcement comes amid a difficult period for United financially with Sir Jim saying 'there's no money left in the club'.
In the past three years, United has lost £300m, putting it in danger of breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules.
The club has made cost-cutting measures across the board since Sir Jim's company INEOS secured a minority stake of 27.7 per cent in December 2023, including cutting the workforce by 250 people last year. Another 200 staff could leave in the latest round of cuts.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured at Old Trafford alongside Omar Berrada
Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured at Old Trafford alongside United chief executive Omar Berrada
The club has not confirmed how much the new stadium will cost, but the Manchester Evening News has reported estimates of £2bn.
Sir Jim had previously suggested the government should contribute towards the project aimed at creating a 'Wembley of the North'.
Earlier this year, the government announced its support for the project, but later ruled out contributing towards the stadium costs.
The M.E.N. understands that this support could come in the form of funding to build new housing in or transport links to the area.
United chief executive Omar Berrada told the reporters that he couldn't comment on funding as the club is a public limited company.
But he is 'quite confident' the club will be able to secure financing for the project which is a 'very attractive investment opportunity'.
Conceptual image of what the new Manchester United stadium and surrounding area could look like have been released
Conceptual images of what the new Manchester United stadium and surrounding area could look like have been released
The club has said the entire project, which includes building more than 17,000 homes around the stadium, has the potential to create 92,000 new jobs, bring an additional 1.8m visitors to the area every year and will be worth an extra £7.3bn per year to the UK economy.
Dr Tony Syme, a macroeconomic expert at the University of Salford's Business School, said these figures are 'remarkable', comparing it to other recent new stadium developments, such as Tottenham Hotspur's which was estimated to generate an extra £293m annually.
He said: “The regeneration project would receive government funding, though there are no specifics on how much would be funded at this stage. Given the scale of the project, this is likely to be a huge undertaking.
“On the development of the new stadium, the finances are also unclear.
"It is estimated to cost £2 billion and Chief Executive, Omar Berrada, stated that he couldn’t speculate too much on the funding of the stadium as Manchester United was a public limited company.
"While he added that this would be a very attractive investment opportunity, this should also be considered alongside Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s earlier statement that without his cost-cutting measures at the Club, it could have been bankrupt by the end of this year."