The new Manchester United stadium design has been revealed in a series of renders that show plans for a 100,000-seat capacity venue with towering spikes. Foster + Partners plans to replace Old Trafford with the "world's greatest" stadium, and certainly the largest in the UK.
Old Trafford is showing its age and needs upgrading with modern facilities, but fans are divided over the radical design departure, which is attracting some unfortunate comparisons (if you're looking to improve your own set up for archviz, see our guides to the best laptops for CAD and the best rendering software).
The new Old Trafford stadium will be build next to the current venue and. It will surpass Wembley's 90,000 capacity to become the biggest stadium in the UK. Trident towers inspired by United's traditional red devil motif will tower up to 200m high and will be visible for 40 kilometres.
Foster + Partners says construction on a venue of this scale would normally take 10 years but that this can be reduced to five years through the use of modular building techniques. The proximity of the Manchester Ship Canal will aid the transport of prefabricated parts of the structure, and Manchester United will continue to play at Old Trafford during construction.
The development includes plans for 17,000 new homes and a public plaza twice the size of Trafalgar Square. Sustainability measures include solar energy harvesting and rainwater collection.
The cost is estimated at £2 billion, and the development is projected to generate £7.3 billion annually for the UK economy and to create around 92,000 jobs. It's expected that it will attract 1.8 million visitors a year.
The announcement signals United's determination to remain a major force in international football despite recent poor performance on the field. But fans are divided on the design. Some see it as a potential renaissance for the club, while others are convinced by the design.
"I'm sorry but this doesn't look like a Manchester United stadium at all. It's yet another soulless bowl with some netting over it," one fan wrote on social media. "Old Trafford, for how run down it is right now, at least represents the industrial heritage of Manchester and has character to it."
"Looks like a circus tent, which is pretty fitting considering the team's current state," someone else said. "Looks like we're pulling a sheet over the stadium go cover our shame," another fan added.
Meanwhile, the Dutch theme park Efteling seems to think it inspired the design. "A familiar design! Will this also be a place where fairy tales come to life?," it asked. Durex UK also sees "some resemblance going on here", according to its comment on the Instagram post.
For more architectural inspiration, see our pick of the famous buildings you should visit before you die.
