In the midst of a sporting crisis, Manchester United is presenting its plans for a new stadium. It is a project of superlatives.
If the architecture that United presented to the world on Tuesday, graphically impressive, stretches exactly into the sky in the red part of Manchester in the future, one would rather expect the Champions League winner there than the 14th of the Premier League, given all the imposingness. It could not be clearer that the English record champions are underlining the historical size.
Renovating or leaving the legendary Old Trafford, United’s home since 1910, which has been in disrepair for years, has been an issue for some time. But now the world club, co-owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has finally made a move. The images and key data, presented in an image film by Lord Norman Foster, managing director of the architecture firm in charge, are truly futuristic.
United doesn’t want to renovate its stadium, but rather build a new one in the immediate vicinity of Old Trafford. It should hold 100,000 spectators – but that’s not all. The new facility, which would be the largest stadium in the UK, would be more like a “mini-city”.
Construction is expected to take five years
Not unlike Munich’s Olympic Stadium, an umbrella-like roof supported by three 200-meter-high masts will cover the new venue. There are plans for a lot of public space below the stadium, for people to linger, meet and, of course, consume. The space will be twice the size of Trafalgar Square. Ultimately, Ratcliffe’s intention is to have “the greatest football stadium in the world”.
If all goes according to plan, the project will be completed in just five years and will cost the equivalent of around 2.5 billion euros. However, calculations for such projects rarely pan out.
Manchester United, which is billions in debt, has not yet announced how the stadium construction is to be financed. However, the club expects the stadium to create up to 17,000 new homes and up to 92,000 new jobs, with almost two million additional visitors per year and over eight billion euros in additional annual income for the British economy.
Ratcliffe, who has recently criticized several players in public, is looking forward to the “start of an incredibly exciting journey”.
