Manchester United shared concept designs for 'New Trafford Stadium' to replace Old Trafford last year, featuring a three-pronged canopy covering the whole pitch
Handout provided by Foster + Partners of a conceptual image of what the new Manchester United stadium and surrounding area could look like
Manchester United may be able to save on space and money by scrapping the canopy for any new stadium(Image: PA)
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Manchester United could reportedly save as much as £200million by scrapping the stadium canopy that caused such controversy. However, there is no official decision on the feature's future either way at this stage.
The three-pronged design was said to be inspired by the Red Devil's trident on their club crest. A source familiar with the stadium claims the canopy would cost £200million, according to The Sun, despite the reported overall cost being £2billion.
Reports of plans to forego the canopy date back to late September last year. The Athletic claimed the club were already looking at alternative designs back then.
They said issues with purchasing the necessary land around Old Trafford were the reason behind other plans being drawn up by architects Foster + Partners. Their report, six months after the images came out, estimated the canopy's cost at £300million to £400million.
A handout provided by Foster + Partners of a conceptual image of what the new Manchester United stadium and surrounding area could look like
Scrapping the canopy could save on space and mean Manchester United need to acquire less land(Image: PA)
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The last update from a United spokesperson at a fans forum meeting in September mentioned "the proposed new stadium – including a canopy". Those comments came in reference to the land they need to buy for the project.
The club said: "While Manchester United owns a significant portion of land around Old Trafford, it is not all in a single, continuous block.
"To accommodate the scale of the proposed new stadium – including a canopy – and to avoid disruption to the existing stadium during construction, we are working to secure additional land.
"We've been engaged in constructive discussions with neighbouring landholders and are optimistic about reaching mutually agreeable terms in the coming months."
Lord Norman Foster, founder of Foster + Partners, called the canopy "a vast umbrella" after the images were released. He said: "The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square."
Their head of studio, Nigel Dancey, also explained the design. He added: "Three towering masts hold up the stadium’s canopy, embodying the club’s trident emblem, and creating a distinctive presence on the skyline."
The press release reiterated: "The stadium features three soaring masts, which take inspiration from the Red Devil’s trident emblem and reflect the verticality of Manchester’s industrial skyline. The masts support a translucent canopy that envelopes the stadium, wrapping around the stands and shielding a generous public plaza from rainfall."
The designs came out for United's new proposed 100,000 all-seater stadium a year ago to the day. An initial opening date was slated for some time in 2030, but that could yet be pushed back even further with no funding in place for the project, which Sir Jim Ratcliffe has estimated will cost in the region of £2billion.