Manchester United’s owners aim to decide by the end of 2024 whether to invest over £2 billion in constructing a new 100,000-seat stadium.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe envisions building a ‘Wembley of the north’ for the team and, along with Trafford Council, has assembled a taskforce to evaluate the feasibility of a new stadium and the redevelopment of Old Trafford.
The taskforce, chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe, includes Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and former Red Devils captain Gary Neville.
Club sources confirmed that the taskforce has already convened four times, with discussions primarily focusing on a new-build rather than renovating the existing stadium, which would cost around £1.2 billion and take longer to complete.
It has been emphasized that no decision has been made yet.
Ratcliffe’s £1.25 billion deal for his 27.7% stake in the club included £237 million for future investment in the club’s stadium. His Ineos Group has taken over football operations from the majority owners, the Glazer family.
Renovating the 74,310-capacity Old Trafford, which has been Manchester United’s home since 1910, presents complications, such as a railway line behind the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand and the need to significantly reduce capacity during construction, causing inconvenience to fans and a substantial loss of revenue.
Unlike Tottenham, who played at Wembley while their £1.2 billion stadium was being completed, United have no obvious alternative ground to use.
The club seeks a stadium that reflects their industrial city roots, with plans to relocate the statues around the current stadium to any new ground.
Ratcliffe wants local and national government involvement in funding the overall project, though this is likely to pertain mainly to transport links.
Exactly how the stadium would be financed is one of the subjects still under discussion.
At current exchange rates, Manchester United’s present debt stands at £647.5 million, excluding outstanding transfer fee payments. This debt includes $650 million (£504.5 million) of historic debt from the Glazer family takeover in 2005 and £143 million from a rolling credit facility.
The Glazers are being kept informed about the discussions.
Sources mentioned that United’s chief operating officer, Collette Roche, has been evaluating stadium redevelopments worldwide, including the Optus Stadium in Perth, which opened in 2018, and Real Madrid’s renovated Bernabeu Stadium.
There have also been discussions with officials at the 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium, where United recently lost to Arsenal in a US tour game on Saturday.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts confirmed that Gunners’ owner Stan Kroenke paid the entire $5 billion (£3.88 billion) to build SoFi Stadium, home to the LA Rams and LA Chargers NFL teams, describing it as the “pre-eminent stadium in the world.”
He told BBC Sport: “Ordinarily, when a team goes into a new stadium, the city pays $300-$500m (£232.86m-£388.1m) for construction costs or an equivalent amount of land.
“We did neither of those things. What we had was the location. We made a deal that suited both of us but it didn’t involve funding or buying land. Stan Kroenke paid $5bn (£3.88bn).”
