Manchester United will demolish Old Trafford to build “the world’s greatest football stadium”, with ambitious plans revealed for a 100,000-seater behemoth.
Old Trafford has fallen into increasing states of disrepair in recent years, with a hole in the roof leading to sporadic “waterfall” leaks during matches.
The new stadium project, as shown in the footage above, will cost around £2bn and has been announced at a time of widespread redundancies at United, with 450 jobs cut.
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said on Monday that without these cuts the club “would have run out of cash by the end of 2025”, with free staff lunches also slashed and replaced with fruit.
Part of a multi-billion-pound project to redevelop the Old Trafford area, it is estimated the wider regeneration could contribute £7.3bn to the economy and create 92,000 jobs.
The club commissioned Lord Norman Foster’s group Foster + Partners to design the new stadium.
Concept images released on Tuesday include three spires and an “umbrella” mesh covering resembling a festival tent to collect energy and rainwater.
Foster explained there will also be a public plaza “twice the size of Trafalgar Square”, with the aim to create a “completely walkable, mixed-use miniature city of the future”.
The 89-year-old also led the ongoing redevelopment of Barcelona’s Camp Nou and has designed buildings from the Gherkin to the Dome of Berlin’s Reichstag.
The increased capacity will make the new stadium the joint-largest in Europe, alongside the new Camp Nou.
Ratcliffe said: “Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.
“By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.”
Sir Alex Ferguson, another victim of Ratcliffe’s financial cuts as his ambassadorial role was snipped, said: “Manchester United should always strive for the best in everything it does, on and off the pitch, and that includes the stadium we play in.
“Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made.”
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