Around this time last year, Manchester United’s then-new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe announced big, bold plans to create a ‘Wembley of the north’. Sir Jim wanted to transform United’s current home Old Trafford into a new, less London-centric temple of football.
And this week, finally, we’ve had a hint of what that development could look like. Mega-famous architecture firm Foster + Partners (which, incidentally, were part of the project to reinvent Wembley in the 2000s) has developed a masterplan that includes not just a new stadium but an entire new ‘district’.
From the concept images, it’s clear that Sir Jim and Lord Norman Foster are out to really and truly wow. Enshrouded in a translucent canopy with three towering masts (a reference to the trident of the red devil on Man U’s badge), the stadium will overlook Manchester’s historic Bridgewater Canal and boast a Wembley-esque ‘processional route’ from the train station to the stadium.
The plan is for New Old Trafford (not the official name) to have a capacity of 100,000 – which would make it the biggest stadium in the UK. Some reckon the towering masts might be so tall they’ll be taller than the Blackpool Tower and you’ll be able to see them from Liverpool.
All of which sounds very impressive, but that isn’t all. F+P says that around the stadium piazza will be a brand-new ‘district’ built on one million square metres of brownfield land. The district will consist of ‘mixed-use developments’ apparently intended to ‘attract new residents, increase job provision and make [the stadium] a vibrant destination for visitors from Manchester, the UK and all around the world.’
Without further ado, here’s what all that could look like.
Manchester United prices the cost of building all that at around £2 billion, and the club says it can be completed within five years. How exactly the build will be funded, and when works might start, is yet to be revealed.
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