Where precisely may Manchester United play throughout five-year construct of recent £2bn floor?
Old Trafford, which has been Manchester United’s home since 1910, is set to be knocked down and a 100,000 seater stadium erected at a cost of £2bn, so where will the Red Devils play in the meantime?
‘Old Trafford is falling down’ has been sung by Manchester City fans with glee in recent seasons, and while they may now be factually accurate, they might not like the consequences.
This morning (March 11) news broke that Manchester United and their INEOS owners, headed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, are planning to build a massive £2billion new stadium for the Red Devils, with snazzy-looking artists’ impression of the new build already circulating online.
The famous Old Trafford, which has been the Premier League titans’ home since 1910 is now due to be knocked down and in its place a 100,000 seater stadia is due to be built. However, this is a process now expected to take around five years.
The stadium will become the centrepiece of a £2billion regeneration for the area – but that raises the question, where will the embattled side play during what will no doubt be a multi-year build? Well we’ve had a look at the options.
The Etihad Stadium – Manchester City
It’s feasible because it is in the right city, making it easy for fans to get to games.
It’s likely though that this San Siro style solution might not go down well with the blue half of the Manchester, for reasons not unlike why Donald Trump doesn’t let Vladimir Putin conduct his business from the White House (not really, but you get the point).
Still, this makes a lot of sense, especially for City, because while fans might feel like their club has let the enemy in the gates, City would reap many, many millions of pounds from the arrangement, which would only strengthen their position against their local rivals.
Wembley
It’s been done before, although when Tottenham Hotspur were there from 2017 to 2019 they were at least staying in the right city. Making a move to the capital would be a bigger deal for the Mancunians and it would no doubt be a hassle for at least some of the fans, although you’d assume for a good chunk of their London based supporters it could save on journey time.
The numbers would be wild too, with United capable of pulling in some of the biggest crowds in the sport, but whether or not they would make it work with a move so far away, would be a whole other question.
Goodison Park – Everton
It’s vacant, it’s up to hosting Premier League games, it’s being demolished at the end of the season.
Liverpool Council approved the demolition of the ground in 2022, much to the dismay of some fans ahead of its new move to the undeniably-exciting Bramley-Moore Dock.
United did play a home game at Goodison in 1948, whether or not we will see that again remains to be seen, although ahead of their fixture against Everton on February 22 this year, United’s official Facebook account put out a post saying “Our final trip to Goodison Park approaches” making it seem unlikely the demolition of the ground would be delayed to house them.
Bramley-Moore Dock – Everton
Another tricky one, but one that would help Everton pay for the shiny new pitch on the water and manage its Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) responsibilities.
That and Everton might not want United fans having free reign over its brand new toy.
Old Trafford Cricket Ground
There is a lot that could work about playing at the cricket ground next door. It’s in the right part of town, the infrastructure is there already and fans would still be heading to their home games, crucially, at home.
But there are problems too. The quality of the pitch in Cricket is vital, and so football studs munching up the wicket would be nothing short of a disaster for would-be-hosts Lancashire, that and the ground can only hold 26,000 fans with additional seating added in.
Toughsheet Community Stadium – Bolton
Bolton would be geographically a good shout compared to some of the other options on this list, but with a capacity of 28,000 it would be a real squeeze for a club that clearly thinks it can get 100,000 in week in, week out.
That being said, this is a question of making things work and staying float for a few years, so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst idea after all, and would help a Championship club financially in the process.
Ewood Park – Blackburn
With a capacity of 31,000 it wouldn’t be the worst option on the list, however fans would have to travel an hour in the car to get there from Old Trafford, which isn’t ideal for the community a football team is meant to be at the heart of. And, like with the Toughsheet ground, it would be helping a lower league club financially.
Anfield – Liverpool
We had a laugh adding this one to the list. Pigs may fly, but it’s a funny thought all the same.
Old Trafford
Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. United have confirmed to the Daily Star that they will continue to play at Old Trafford during the building process, meaning there’s life in it yet.
