Manchester United are the most successful team in Premier League history, winning the competition 13 times since its inauguration in 1992.
However, in recent times they have fallen behind their rivals and have not won the league since the 2012/13 campaign.
It is not just on the pitch that they have declined, though. Rival fans have mocked the decay of Old Trafford in recent years, with roof leaks and a lack of renovation in the last decade across the ground synonymous with the club’s overall decline.
As a result, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS, who acquired a 27.7% stake in the club in December 2023, have looked at new stadium plans and a potential Old Trafford redevelopment, as they look to close the gap on their rivals.
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What’s Old Trafford like now?
There has been a lack of renovations to Old Trafford in recent years. In fact, the last major upgrade was in 2006, when additional seats were added in the northwest and northeast sections of the ground.
The club have also found it difficult to renovate the south stand in the last decade as it backs onto a railway line, meaning that planning permission has been difficult to push through.
As well as this, the overall facilities of Old Trafford have fallen well behind the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Some issues cited include small concourses, poor quality of food and drink, and roof leaks. During United’s 1-0 loss at home to Arsenal in the Premier League at the end of last season, the roof at the Stretford End heavily leaked, flooding the stands below.
This put an increased spotlight on INEOS to explore redevelopment options or build a new facility entirely, especially as Old Trafford wasn’t selected as a host venue for the upcoming UEFA Euro 2028, which is set to take place in the UK & Ireland.
Ratcliffe has publicly said that he wants to build a “Wembley of the North” for the Red Devils in the near future.
Where would Manchester United build a new stadium?
An Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force was set up by Ratcliffe in March 2024.
This group consisted of Sebastian Coe, former United captain Gary Neville, and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. The task force has been asked to weigh up the following options for the future: redeveloping the current stadium or building a new facility entirely.
The second option would involve demolishing Old Trafford and constructing a new build on the adjacent land slightly west of where the existing stadium currently sits. This is estimated to cost in excess of £2 billion, though, whereas redeveloping Old Trafford is estimated to cost around £1 billion.
On 6 August 2024, Matt Slater of The Athletic provided the following insight in an article about United’s plan to build a new Old Trafford.
He said: “While United do own a lot of space, they do not have a big enough single parcel of land for a 100,000-seat stadium without knocking down Old Trafford first. This means they will almost certainly have to buy at least a slice of the rail depot next door. Owned by logistics company Freightliner, the important distribution hub would most likely need to be moved to a new, out-of-town site.”
Timeline of Manchester United new stadium plans
July 2024 update
On 29 July, Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic reports that the task force is favouring building a new 100,000-seater stadium. The group is currently focusing on how a new build would be financed and ways in which they can regenerate the Greater Manchester area.
#MUFC aiming for 100,000-capacity Old Trafford, with initial conclusion that a new stadium is the way to go.
Task force looking at finance + appearance of ground – on adjacent land.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants full recommendation by end of year ⬇️https://t.co/JjxoFdcTmP
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) July 29, 2024
James Ducker of The Telegraph also reported on the same day that a final decision on whether to redevelop Old Trafford or push forward with plans to build a new facility will be announced by December 2024.
March 2024 update
An ‘Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force’ appointed by Ratcliffe. They were tasked with fully exploring the two options outlined by Populous and Legends International.
February 2024 update
Sir Jim Ratcliffe announces that his preference is to build a ‘Wembley of the North’ on the existing land where Old Trafford currently sits, instead of redeveloping the current facility.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “There is quite a big argument, in my view, for regenerating that whole south side of Manchester. The nucleus of it would be building a new world-class state-of-the-art stadium which could take England games, the FA Cup final, Champions League finals. It could serve the north of England.”
April 2022-December 2023 update
In April 2022, United appointed the architecture and consultancy firms Populous and Legends International to look at ways to redevelop Old Trafford. They both worked on Tottenham’s world-class stadium, which opened in 2019.
In December, the two companies presented United with two concrete options: redevelop the hospitality sectors and increase the capacity at Old Trafford or build a new stadium entirely on the adjacent land.