Manchester United has plans to build a new stadium to house the team near the area of its existing one, which will be able to host nearly one-third more soccer fans.
The 147-year old soccer club said Tuesday that it plans to purse a new 100,000-seat stadium as the centerpiece of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area.
Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of the team who has taken over footballing decisions, said that the Old Trafford stadium has served the team well for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in the world of sports, even with its current capacity of 74,000 remaining unmatched among Premier League stadiums.
“We will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home,” Ratcliffe said.
Manchester United, which went public in 2012, has won 69 trophies in its century and a half as a competing sports team. The team has won the country’s top football prize, the Premier League title, 13 times, most recently in 2012, and brought home the Champions League cup three times.
The team said that the stadium and wider regeneration project has the potential to add an additional 7.3 billion British pounds ($9.4 billion) to the greater U.K. economy through the creation of thousands of jobs and housing.
Manchester United said the team has a global following of 1.1 billion fans and expects that the regeneration project will bring nearly 1.8 million additional visitors to watch the games.