Manchester United have announced the creation of an Old Trafford regeneration taskforce that will explore the building of a new state-of-the-art stadium, including how to finance a project that the club accepts it cannot undertake alone.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United’s largest individual shareholder, wants to construct a home for the club on the site where Old Trafford stands. Sebastian Coe will chair the taskforce, which has a remit to regenerate the area and seek strategic partnerships. Other members include Gary Neville, the former United captain, and Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester.
Ratcliffe said: “This can be a major regeneration project for an area of Greater Manchester which has played such a key role in British industrial history, but which requires new investment to thrive again. The north-west of England has a greater concentration of major football clubs than anywhere else in the world, yet we don’t have a stadium on the scale of Wembley, the Nou Camp or Bernabéu. We will not be able to change that on our own, which is why this taskforce is so important to help us seize this once-in-a-century opportunity.”
Although United will not seek grants, a wide range of options will be explored, including public-private partnerships. Lord Coe, the World Athletics president, who chaired the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics, said: “Throughout my career in sport, I have seen the potential for stadiums to become focal points for strong communities and catalysts for social and economic development. That was certainly true of the venues we built in east London for the 2012 Olympics, and we are overdue a project of similar scale and ambition in the north of England. I am honoured to have this opportunity to share my experience in support of this tremendously exciting project.”
The taskforce also includes representatives of the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (Must), with 30,000 fans having already been consulted.
Neville said: “I’m incredibly fortunate to have had the privilege of playing hundreds of games at Old Trafford, and no one can take away those amazing memories. But Old Trafford has evolved throughout its history and it’s clear we are at a point where it has to change again to ensure that Manchester United has a world-class stadium befitting the world’s greatest club.
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“While I want the best for Manchester United, I also want the same for the surrounding community. Old Trafford should be a stadium that the whole of Greater Manchester can take pride in, and be a catalyst for sustainable, cohesive growth in an area of the city that has been neglected for too long.”
Duncan Drasdo, Must’s chief executive, said: “It is encouraging to see the emphasis being put on fan consultation, including representation on this panel, and exciting to see the vision and ambition behind this project.”
