Manchester United still plans to build a new stadium in preparation for hosting the 2035 Women’s World Cup final.
More than a year ago, club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe unveiled ambitious plans to build a 100,000-seat venue near its current Old Trafford home.
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At the time, Ratcliffe talked about trying to shorten the construction time to five years, raising expectations for how quickly the project could get off the ground.
However, as has been noted privately, at the time the club had no land to build on, plans were not in place and there was no detailed business case.
In fact, those five years began the moment United were given the go-ahead to put shovels in the ground.
“We did say it would take four to five years to build,” Colette Roach, United’s newly appointed chief executive of new stadium development, told the club’s Inside Carrington podcast.
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“People are reading this because we may have the stadium ready by 2030. But it does take one to two years to prepare the construction, assemble the land, get the funding in place and get planning permission.
“That’s part of what we’re working on right now. We haven’t designated an opening date yet, but we’re on track within those timelines.”
Manchester United sources have previously told BBC Sport they are targeting hosting the 2035 tournament. That private message has now been repeated, Roach told MUTV: “The plan is to be able to host other international sporting and entertainment events.
“The mayor, Andy Burnham, has said his ambition is for us to host the Women’s World Cup final in 2035, so if we can achieve that it would be incredible.”
The area close to Old Trafford will be used for the construction of Manchester United’s new stadium [Getty Images]
What on earth are Manchester United doing?
In response to repeated questions about the stadium over the past few months, United have continued to stress that work is underway “behind the scenes”.
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However, a lack of clear, visible progress has many observers doubting whether the project, which could cost more than £2 billion, will actually be built.
Roche’s choice to provide an update is part of a wider desire within the club for fans to be patient.
While the launch of the Mayor’s Development Corporation, led by Lord Coe, was ignored by many supporters – who were only interested in a brand new stadium, complete with the “circus tent” shown in the original designs – it formed an important part of the wider redevelopment of Old Trafford, of which United’s ground would be central.
We want all relevant parts to move forward together, which means a large number of stakeholders are aligned on plans and timelines.
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Much of Roche’s work revolves around this.
Where will the stadium be built and how much will it cost?
The general location has been determined, but the specific details have not yet been agreed upon.
That won’t happen until United acquire the land. There’s a lot of talk about Freightliner Marina, but they’re just one of multiple landowners.
Once the club has identified the precise site, further work will be required to identify required access, public transport links and where the 15,000 new homes will be built to ensure they are not negatively impacted by the large-scale events that regularly take place at the stadium.
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United are understandably tight-lipped about this, but for good reason.
They had no idea what materials would be needed for construction until plans were in place. They wondered whether Ratcliffe’s idea of using the nearby Manchester Canal for shipping would become a reality. Basically, they won’t say how much it will cost because they don’t know.
How will the fees be paid?
United sources believe the project will be financed. What is less clear is what method will be used.
It’s possible that Ratcliffe and the Glazers could use their own money. This would be clean in the sense that it would keep ownership of the stadium under the club’s umbrella and would not dilute their respective shares in United.
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However, the Glazers have been criticized for taking money out of the club rather than putting it back. Their acquisition in 2005 was funded with United’s own money and it would be a big surprise if the strategy changed.
Alternatively, given United already have over £1bn of debt (including outstanding transfer fees), they could borrow more, but the wisdom of doing so has been questioned.
A new company can be formed and investors take shares. This would separate the stadium from the club and it is unclear how this would work as Old Trafford is used as collateral for current long-term debt.
All of this must be balanced against the ongoing spending needs of individual teams, including the men’s first team, which is by far the most expensive part of the club.
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“I’m happy to say we’ve had a lot of interest,” Roach added of the financing situation. “There are a lot of people and organizations who want to invest, not just in the stadium but in the wider stadium area.
“These conversations will naturally take place behind closed doors.”
What happens now?
It could take a few years for “New Old Trafford” to come up.
For now, work will continue unseen.
However, the land issue is expected to be resolved in a few months. United will then continue to develop planning strategy, procurement strategy and high-level engineering design.
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Planning permission will then be submitted and fans will finally see what the club wants their stadium to look like and how close it is to the original artist’s impression unveiled by Ratcliffe last March.
“Same ambition, same vision,” Roche said.
“We wanted to build a stadium that was both fitting for our past and fit for the future.”
