Manchester United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been spearheading plans the plans for a new stadium.
Ever since Ineos secured their minority stake in Manchester United a year ago, and effectively took over the running of the club from the Glazers, the topic of a new stadium has been under discussion.
Speaking following the announcement of plans for a new stadium, Sir Jim Ratcliffe explained that re-developing the existing Old Trafford would not be cost effective.
He explained: “I think what would have happened if we tried to refurbish the stadium, we would have discovered that it actually would probably have been 70 per cent of the cost of building a new stadium.
“And in 25 years’ time, we’d be talking about building a new stadium because it wouldn’t be perfect.”
Manchester United stadium plans
Manchester United’s existing stadium capacity of 74,310 is set to expand to 100,000 with the new stadium.
The new arena is planned to be complete within five years and will not involve Manchester United having to be relocate during the construction.
The stadium has been designed by architect Norman Foster, and it has a distinct look which has split opinion from fans – and will take some getting used to.
Internal structure of new stadium matters
Speaking to club media, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has stated that while the exterior of the stadium has caught the eye, it is the attention paid to the design of the stands that needs some spotlight.
He says it has been set up with fans in mind, to be able to get close to the action, and impact the play on the pitch.
He explained: “I had to have a really intense atmosphere, and the people in the stadium would be as close to the pitch as we possibly could achieve.
“So that means you’ve got relatively steep sides rather than flat sides. And we wanted an intense atmosphere.
“At the end of the day, I think that’s worth points in the league, because the more intimidating it is from the point of view of just seeing this mass of people and the sound, because it’s designed acoustically to reverberate.
“We want to be winning matches at home, and we want it to be a sort of fearsome atmosphere when the competing teams go in.
Ratcliffe adds that he wants this to be the very opposite of West Ham’s stadium, where supporters are set back from the pitch.
He said: “You look at West Ham they play in a stadium with a running track around the edge of the pitch, they are 20 metres from the edge of the pitch.
“We want fans to be five metres from the edge of the pitch, and we want, with legal constraints of the design, relatively vertical, people are close.”
Ratcliffe explains stadium brief
Ratcliffe wants Manchester United’s stadium to be the best around, an iconic venue that stands out. And for better or worse, it looks like that is exactly what has been designed.
He said: “It really was about the best stadium in the world, the best stadium in Europe, better than the Bernabeu and the Nou Camp which are both new and both really impressive.
“Biggest in the world, intimidating, and one everybody in the world would recognize.”
