The hierarchy at Manchester United have a huge decision to make over the future of Old Trafford.
Less than a year into their ownership of the club, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are facing one of the biggest decisions in Manchester United’s history.
Old Trafford has been the home of the Red Devils since 1910 but talks are now ongoing for the club to build a new state-of-the-art 100,000-seater stadium.
A new stadium is set to cost around £2bn but would provide a huge lift to the club’s income streams in the long term with finance expert Adam Williams exclusively revealing that United could earn £230m per season from a new stadium.
Ineos have assembled a task force to assess what is the best option for redeveloping the stadium and the surrounding area, and it is starting to point towards a new stadium being the preferred option.
What has been said about 100,000-seater Man United stadium
The decision to stick or twist with Old Trafford has split opinion, not only in the United fanbase but also across former players.
Paul Scholes shared his view on a new Man United stadium and Andy Cole’s verdict on the stadium debate is similar.
United legend Gary Neville is part of the task force assembled by Ineos but he has previously shown support for the club building a “super stadium”.
Additionally, Jean-Claude Blanc has already made feelings clear on new stadium and suggested that the opinion of fans will be key.
Supporters will be keeping a keen eye on the stadium development and a timeline around when a new stadium could be built has now been revealed.
When work on new Man United stadium could start and finish
A £2bn stadium project would be a goliath task but a promising sign of Ratcliffe’s commitment to the club.
The Manchester Evening News have now laid down expectations for when work on a new 100,000-seater stadium could start – and when the venue could be opened.
They claim that the earliest date work could begin on a new stadium is the summer of 2025. A decision around the future of the stadium is set to be made towards the end of 2024.
It adds that early estimations suggest a new rebuild would take “roughly three years”, meaning 2028 would be the earliest completion date.
Depending on the location of the new stadium, United would likely need to find a temporary home ground for those three years.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/y3mN4uw