United fans outside Old Trafford in 1984
United fans outside Old Trafford in 1984
When the first image of the Manchester United stadium conceptual design finally loaded on my laptop, the reaction was one of shock.
Those of us invited to Foster + Partners' headquarters in Battersea on Tuesday received the imagery in advance of the 10am embargoed time (which United then broke). We later discovered the stadium architects were milling around in the room. Keeping counsel was a struggle.
The 'trident' design, to symbolise the three-pronged spear the devil wields in the United crest, initially resembled a circus tent. It still does from several angles.
Shortly after the embargo was lifted, the memes started. The stadium was likened to a Butlin's resort, Andre Onana was mocked up as a clown in front of a circus tent, some speculated if the trident, with an apex of 200 metres, would be the away end with a £666 ticket price.
The architects, Nigel Dancey and Patrick Campbell, suggested the addition of the trident was almost an afterthought, a decorative addition. A United official claimed it had been decided on from the early stages.
Lord Foster designed Wembley. Its arch can be seen from land, sea and air for miles. The trident could be spotted from the Peak District if it survives the backlash.
"I think that when you look at stadiums, they are pretty much always fortresses," Dancey said. "And I think our idea, particularly as we're looking at it within the context of master planners, was to really open it up and to do that with the roof and have these covered spaces.
"And I think as it kind of grew, the idea of a covered space, well how do you do a structure for that? The verticality of the mast kind of helps.
"To be fair, the trident kind of came later, we'd already designed the stadium and then somebody went, ‘Hey, you know, that looks a bit like’. ‘Okay, that's interesting’. But the idea of the kind of triumphal procession here and then arriving in that key space, we felt that was completely different and new.
"With there being 136 days of rain [in Manchester], we thought it to be important to get people under this covered space quickly. We want people saying ‘I want to come to that place’.”
The trident is an aesthetic extra that will come at significant cost but Foster and Sir Jim Ratcliffe want something that will set United apart from any other stadium.
"Conversations, engagement, consultation, vital part of the process," Campbell said. "Obviously we're at a stage where this is still the grand unveiling. I think everyone's talking about this is the beginning of the process. We really want to kind of continue those conversations."
Patrick Campbell (third from right), discusses the design
What was noticeable in all the imagery and footage was the absence of any Old Trafford landmarks. No Munich Clock, no Munich Tunnel, no Trinity Statue and no Sir Matt Busby Statue.
They have to be meeting points in the 2030s for United matchgoers. "The Trinity Sculpture addresses the stadium as it does today," Campbell assured. "We think it's a really powerful and proud centrepiece of heritage and history.
"So we think it should be somewhere in this location, those are exactly those sorts of conversations we need to have with the fans."
Said location is the approach to the stadium, which would be Sir Matt Busby Way. The stadium entrance would greet fans who walk down the Warwick Road and onto the road named after the man who rebuilt United.
The Munich Clock on display at Old Trafford in 1984
The architects drew inspiration from the Olympic Stadium in Munich, which hosted the 1972 Games and the 1974 World Cup before becoming Bayern Munich's home until 2006, and the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
United staff had a tour of the SoFi around their friendly against Arsenal in late July. The pitch is between 30-35 metres below sea level. The 'New Trafford' Stadium's pitch would be 15.9 metres below ground level.
The NFL logo is affixed to Tottenham's stadium as it hosts games in the autumn. A retractable pitch is not planned for United's new ground.
"The most important thing is that the first piece was football," Campbell stressed, "about making this the most atmospheric bowl in the world, the finest football stadium in the world. It’s about acoustics, sightlines, proximity to the pitch. All of those different things."
The approach to the stadium
"The most important thing is we don't want to get to a situation where you can't have a football match because you pre-booked a concert," Dancey added. "So you want football to come first and I think in the summertime there's enough weeks for Coldplay or Taylor Swift, whoever they want, to turn up and play the concerts and then you get the stadium back for football again."
United had a best-in-class stadium as they increased the capacity of Old Trafford from 44,000 in 1995 to 76,000 in 2006. Expanding the ground since has always been prohibited by the railway line behind the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand and the neglect of the club's thrifty owners, the Glazers.
Remaining on the same site in a new-build is a grand plan becoming of United. Underpinning the regeneration of Trafford Park would put the Manchester back into Manchester United, an early and hitherto hollow promise from Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe said a new-build stadium was a "no-brainer" last year
It will not be for everyone. The 1958 group described the design as "a generic, soulless corporate structure, more akin to a modern entertainment venue than a football cathedral".
The designs are reminiscent of some American stadia. American sports fan culture is as far removed from English football culture as the two countries are. There is little heritage or tradition attached to most American sports teams, whereas English clubs are brimming with it.
Matchgoers appreciate the quirks of grounds big and small. As long as there is a decent pub and chippy nearby, they are catered for. A fanzone (a word that makes one shudder) and tourist-centric plaza is not going to set the pulses racing for those craving an atmosphere.
The New Trafford plaza
The Principality Stadium, née Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff was an inspired temporary host for English cup finals between 2001-07 due to its city centre location and the number of pubs. Wembley is great for journalists but not for supporters. Its three-tier structure is already outdated and it is still in Wembley. The national stadium should have been relocated to the midlands.
So United have to get the balance right. A stadium befitting their status as sport's most scrutinised institution that is welcoming for all but does not alienate time-served supporters. Most of it will be new but it has to have some of the old from Old Trafford.
And then, when United eventually do move in, the onus is on them to ensure the circus does not continue.
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