With plans for the 100,000-capacity Manchester United stadium to be built within the next five years, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co will be hoping to begin work as soon as possible.
There are still boxes to be ticked for the start of the regeneration project to commence, but Andy Burnham – the mayor of Manchester – will be a key figure in helping turning the plans into reality.
At a time when land still needs to be purchased around Old Trafford, Burnham is part of the task force for the project and has already stressed that the aim is to become the “most significant football location in the world”.
In the short term, there will be scepticism over whether such a project can be completed by 2030, but Burnham has revealed that he has already made a government request to help the vast improvements and additions for the wider area.
Burnham makes government request amid Manchester United stadium plans
Speaking on the Added Time podcast, Burnham said: “I am closely involved to the point where we’ve just asked parliament to establish a Mayoral Development Corporation. So that is a vehicle, a legal entity, that will oversee the wider regeneration of the whole area.
“That is more my responsibility, the wider environment around any new stadium. It’s a huge opportunity for us as a city and a region. If you think about that area, it’s the area around the old Salford docks.”
He added: “You’ve got Media City on the other side. This could be a global location if we get it right.
“I know people here kind of struggle to see why it impacts life on this end of the M62 (in Liverpool), but actually there are freight terminals behind the existing Old Trafford that send lots of trains through Manchester city centre. That is a major cause of the chaos on railways across the north because it causes blockages in Manchester.
“Therefore, every train coming across the country is often then late getting over to Liverpool. So it’s a project that actually makes sense on loads of levels.”
Burnham also acknowledged that the hope would be that the new stadium would play an integral part of the 2035 Women's World Cup, anticipating the venue hosting the final of that tournament.
FGG says: Man United fans to have mixed feelings at this stage
For all of the talk that has come from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Burnham, supporters will not begin to anticipate the planned turnaround for the development until the surrounding land of Old Trafford is purchased.
There was also suggestions that the company overseeing the design of the stadium could focus their attentions elsewhere if a start date was not confirmed.
While everything sounds attractive and appealing in theory, eight months have come and gone without the planning process being finalised.