Manchester plans new 100,000-seat stadium

Manchester United are targeting a 100,000-capacity stadium if they go ahead with plans to move to a new Old Trafford. A six-figure capacity is seen as a realistic figure designed to future-proof the stadium given the high demand for tickets. The joint task force, set up to explore options at Old Trafford, has assessed redevelopment but is now focusing on what a new build would look like and how it would be financed, having concluded – tentatively at this stage – that this is the best way to transform the fan experience. Sir Jim Ratcliffe also favours building a stadium from scratch rather than renovating, and United believe that doing so on club-owned land adjacent to the current ground is feasible, meaning the team could continue to play at Old Trafford during the construction work. The alternative, upgrading the stands, would mean reducing capacity at various points and creating problems with how to accommodate the 51,000 season ticket holders if the number of seats available falls below that figure. There is a big difference in cost: the new build is expected to cost more than £2bn, with internal approval costs likely to rise, while the refurbishment will cost around half that amount. But the work being done now by the team, chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe and including Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Gary Neville and Sarah Todd, chief executive of Trafford Council, among others, is on the more expensive option. The team has met four times, most recently last week, when Neville raised the issue of what the new Old Trafford will look like architecturally.