Manchester United could play at Old Trafford while new stadium built on surrounding land

Manchester United could potentially continue to play at Old Trafford while a new stadium is built on surrounding land if the club decided to demolish their famous old ground.

Telegraph Sport revealed this week how the prospect of knocking down Old Trafford and building a new stadium is one of the options under consideration by the club as part of ambitious redevelopment plans.

Aside from the emotional and financial considerations involved in such a decision, there is the question of where United would play their home matches if Old Trafford - the club’s home for the past 112 years - was flattened.

Tottenham were able to play at Wembley for two seasons while their new stadium was built but the North West does not have such a large scale neutral venue that United could use as a temporary base.

However, it is understood that, since United own large swathes of land around Old Trafford, there would be the scope for the club to build a new stadium nearby and continue to play at their existing ground in the meantime if they opted to explore that avenue.

In addition to the vast array of car park space behind the current west stand at Old Trafford, United also own some of the freight facilities in the immediate vicinity and would not be confined to the site of their existing ground if they sought to build a new stadium.

It would also remove the need to build up and over the railway line behind Old Trafford’s existing South Stand.

One of the alternative options on the table is to expand the South Stand as part of a full revamp of the current stadium but, given the proximity of the railway line, the complexities of that job could send costs soaring, all the more so if United opted to keep the stand open on matchdays while work was carried out.

The third option on the table is for no expansion of the South Stand but a complete overhaul of the stadium as it currently stands.

United, who are on the verge of appointing their preferred partner to oversee the project following a thorough tender process, stress that it is still very early days in the process and that no decisions have been taken.

A much deeper exploration of the costs and hurdles involved in redevelopment or a full rebuild are expected to gather pace once a master planner has been appointed.

But the club have also committed to consult closely with fans through every step of the process.

At this stage, sources have indicated that a full rebuild seems less likely than redevelopment of the existing stadium but nothing is off the table.

“It’s only once master planners are appointed that the club will start working with experts to explore the feasibility of the various options - until then these are just all ideas on paper,” one person familiar with the process said.

Once the envy of English football, Old Trafford - the country’s largest club stadium with a capacity of 74,140 - looks increasingly outdated compared to some of the new grounds built by their rivals.

There is also recognition that a more modern stadium, complete with first rate corporate hospitality offerings, could also generate a huge upturn in revenues as well as greatly improving the matchday experience for fans.

Old Trafford could be bulldozed and rebuilt under plans by Manchester United owners the Glazers

By James Ducker and Jim White

Old Trafford could be knocked down and rebuilt under plans being considered by Manchester United.

United are close to appointing preferred partners for what would be the biggest redevelopment project in the club’s history after an exhaustive tender process in which bidders were asked to submit three different design proposals.

The most ambitious of those options is for a complete rebuild of Old Trafford, the country’s largest club stadium with a capacity of 74,140 seats and United’s home since 1910.

If United pressed ahead with such a move, a new, larger stadium with a capacity to rival Wembley’s 90,000 would be built on a reconfigured site. It would also feature a smaller, second ground to host the women’s team and academy matches.

The Glazer family have come in for heavy criticism in recent years from supporters for neglecting Old Trafford, which has become tired and outdated, particularly in relation to some of their rivals’ new state-of-the-art stadiums.

Although a full rebuild would be a much more straight-forward project in many ways than redevelopment of the existing stadium, one of the biggest headaches centres around where United would play their home matches while the work was carried out.

Such a construction project could take two to three years and, unlike with Tottenham Hotspur - who played at Wembley for two seasons while their new stadium was built - there is not an alternative, large-scale venue in the north west which United could use in the meantime.

A ground share with another club would present an array of problems and mean a severe hit to matchday revenue. United currently generate at least £4.25 million in income for every home game.

Nothing is off the table at this stage, though, with United prepared to consider all options after a thorough review of the plans put forward.

The other two 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.

It is understood that if United went with one of these options, the club ideally favour a phased rebuild that would allow them to keep playing matches at Old Trafford at full capacity rather than accept the temporary closure of the South Stand.

But it is believed that, as well as being extremely complex, the costs involved in such a project would skyrocket if the preferred bidder was asked to redevelop the South Stand while it remained open to fans on matchdays.

United’s South Stand holds 9,433 seats, excluding the directors’ and press boxes, with a further 1,585 executive seats in the upper section. The south west and south east quadrants hold a further 4,338 supporters combined.

Any of the options would involve a huge rethink of the club’s existing corporate hospitality offering, which was once the envy of English football but now trails rivals such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Spurs, who have all moved into new stadiums, and Liverpool, who redeveloped Anfield.

Collette Roche, United’s chief operating officer, told the club’s fans’ forum over a fortnight ago that they would appoint their preferred partner “in the coming weeks” after meeting with companies covering architecture, engineering, construction, crowd modelling, transport and security, among other disciplines.

Once the preferred bidder is named, United are expected to seek a more detailed assessment of the costs, timescales and pros and cons of the three proposals before settling on the best way forward. 

“Following this, we will be able to formally kick-off Phase 1 of the project, which will be focused on establishing the vision and objectives of the masterplan,” Roche said.

In addition to their plans for Old Trafford, United are also redeveloping their existing Carrington training base with the aim of turning it into a world-class facility that better serves the first team, women’s team and academy.

KSS, the architects behind Liverpool, Tottenham and Leicester’s new training grounds, have been appointed to lead the project and a full-time project manager is now in place.

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