Manchester United are looking at selling the Old Trafford naming rights, according to Adam Crafton of The Athletic. INEOS owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering ways to increase revenues to fund a “potentially multi-billion pound project”. The new minority owners are considering whether to redevelop Old Trafford or fund a newly-built stadium.
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Manchester United are considering selling the naming rights to a refurbished Old Trafford or a newly-built stadium as part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe seeks to drive up revenues to fund the project.
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Old Trafford naming rights to be sold?
Old Trafford is 114 years old, and the stadium’s naming rights have never been sold, unlike some of their Premier League rivals, such as Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium or Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. Crafton reported that an option for United is to retain the name Old Trafford, along with an associated partner.
An example of this is Barcelona’s ‘Spotify Camp Nou’ or the ‘Emirates Old Trafford’ cricket ground in Manchester. Another option is to completely sell the naming rights, which would generate millions in additional revenue. This is believed to be a realistic option, especially if the club hierarchy opt to build a new stadium. It was announced in March 2024 that United still have debts above £600 million.
Redevelop Old Trafford or fund new build?
United appointed an Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force in March 2024 to weigh up the benefits of redeveloping the existing site or building an entirely new stadium on the land next to where the current venue sits. This group, which consists of Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Lord Sebastian Coe, and former United captain Gary Neville, will look at ways to fund the stadium project as well as explore ways to regenerate the Greater Manchester Area. It is expected that the club will make a decision on the future of Old Trafford, aided by the help of the Taskforce, by the end of the year.
Crafton said: “United have not yet revealed how they intend to fund either a refurbishment or a new build, but the Glazer family have never shown an inclination to self-fund United’s ambitions while Ratcliffe’s INEOS will likely seek a mixture of public funds and private partners or debt in order to carry out the work.”
Ratcliffe has previously estimated that a complete revamp of the infrastructure and facilities at Old Trafford would cost £1 billion. Meanwhile, he said that a newly-built stadium would cost around £2 billion, which is his “personal preference”.
Ticket price increases
Another way to increase revenues and recover the soaring debt accumulated by the Glazers over the last decade is through ticket price increases. For the 2024/25 season, United announced a five per cent increase in season ticket prices. Crafton added: “However, in the event of a substantial stadium project, United are now considering further ticket price increases to help handle the costs of the project and keep revenues high enough for the team to be competitive on the field.”