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Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium may be knocked down and rebuilt as part of redevelopment plans under consideration by the club.
According to The Telegraph, United are close to appointing preferred partners for the redevelopment project. This follows a tender process during which bidders put forward three different redesign proposals.
The most ambitious proposal is for Old Trafford to be completely rebuilt as a new, larger stadium on a reconfigured site - a stadium that would be large enough, it is claimed, to rival Wembley's 90,000 capacity.
This proposal also includes plans for a second ground which would host the women's team and academy fixtures.
Other options under consideration are:
- An expansion of Old Trafford’s existing South Stand, which would involve going up and over the top of the adjacent railway line and increase capacity to over 80,000, plus an overhaul of the rest of the stadium
- A complete revamp of the existing stadium, including a drastic overhaul of the club’s corporate hospitality, but with no South Stand expansion
If United chose one of these options, the club reportedly favour a phased rebuild that would allow them to continue to play at Old Trafford at a full capacity. However, the costs involved in the project would considerably increase if the preferred bidder was asked to redevelop the South Stand while it remained in use on matchdays.
While Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium was built, they played their home games at Wembley.
Once the preferred bidder is confirmed and named, the club is expected to pursue a detailed assessment of the costs, timescales and benefits of the three proposals submitted.
Meanwhile work is ongoing on Everton FC’s new 52,888-seater stadium at Bramley Moore-Dock, with Laing O’Rourke manufacturing the 11,000 precast concrete segments that will form the stadium.
Dredging and infilling for the stadium’s foundations was completed in December and piling had commenced. Construction is now shifting to the next phase, where the framework starts to become clear.
The Premier League club hopes to host games at the site as early as 2024.
The club has previously revealed design changes to the 52,888 capacity stadium in response to feedback on the original planning application submitted in December 2019. Among other changes, the stadium's height has been reduced so that it is defined as a "mid-rise" building, in an attempt to address heritage concerns.
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