Man Utds new stadium - nine key questions

Architecture group Foster + Partners has released some concept images of the proposed new stadium

Manchester United have announced ambitious plans to be a new £2bn 100,000-capacity stadium close to their current home at Old Trafford.

Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to build the "worlds greatest football stadium".

But when? And how can they afford it? What does it look like? And what happens to the current stadium?

BBC Sport looks at some of the key questions surrounding the project.

Manchester United believe the new stadium can be completed in five years.

A project of this size would normally take around 10 years to complete.

However, the club think they can halve the building time by making full use of the Manchester ship canal.

"Normally, if you were building a 100,000-seater stadium from the ground up, in an area that needs to be regenerated, its a 10-year project. But if we get going with the government then I think its a five-year project, not a 10-year project," said Ratcliffe.

The club plans to build large parts of the stadium off-site before shipping it to the Old Trafford side via the Manchester ship canal.

"It will be a modular build - that means it can be built far more quickly," said Ratcliffe.

"There are yards which specialise in building very large structures, which are then shipped to locations around the world."

Architect Norman Foster added: "Normally a stadium would take 10 years to build, we halved that time - five years. How do we do that? By pre-fabrication, by using the network of Manchester ship canal, bring it back to a new life, shipping in components, 160 of them, Meccano-like."

There is no confirmed starting date.

Ratcliffe says the project will depend on how quickly the government are with kick-starting their regeneration project of the area.

"On the timeline for this, it starts with a discussion." Ratcliffe.

"It depends how quickly the government get going with their regeneration programme. I think they want to get going quite quickly, because they want to see progress in this parliament.

"Im assuming that will go well and it will go quickly."

It is unclear what will happen to Uniteds existing home - but it looks unlikely the current Old Trafford will be kept.

Architects Forster and Partners had suggested that Old Trafford would be demolished - and there is no sign of the current stadium in the new artists impressions

Given the proximity of the new stadium to the current site, this option looks likely.

"By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, Ratcliffe said.

It had been suggested in 2024 that the current stadium could be scaled back and used as a home for Uniteds women and youth teams.

United chief executive Omar Berrada floated this idea in an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, but suggested: "No decision has been made."

Manchester United say the new stadium will cost around £2bn.

"Were looking at a ballpark [figure] of £2bn," Berrada told BBC Sports editor Dan Roan.

The club have not said how the stadium will be financed.

There are several options on the table, such as loans, private investment or investment from co-owner Ratcliffe.

However, the proposal to build a new £2bn stadium runs alongside the cost-cutting measures being made by Ratcliffe since his investment in the club.

What were doing now is try to put ourselves in the best financial position to be able to finance a stadium and other infrastructure projects," said Berrada.

"Our aim is to be the most profitable club within three years. We think this will put us in the best financial footing to make this investment and to work with private investors who are willing to work with us.

The club are over £1bn in debt.

However, Football Finance Expert Kieran Maguire says the club have more headroom to borrow money.

"The good news for Manchester United is that the club is in a position to borrow substantial sums, despite existing levels of debt," Maguire told BBC Sport.

"If the club does borrow a substantial amount of the estimated £2bn cost of the new stadium, it is likely to do so with some form of interest only loan.

"When Tottenham took a similar approach to building a new stadium in London a few years ago, they negotiated at very low interest rates. These loans have resulted in Tottenhams interest costs rising from £12m in the final season at White Hart Lane in 2016-17 to £46m in 2022-23. During that same period matchday income had increased by £72m and commercial income by £155m.

"The increase in commercial income is due to the club having a bigger multi-function stadium, used for a myriad of football and non-football events such as NFL, music concerts and boxing."

Speaking to BBC sports editor Dan Roan earlier, Ratcliffe said: "The financing is not the issue, I think its eminently financeable. But the detail of that wed rather talk about in the future. It will be financeable, I think," he said.

The new stadium is to be built next to Old Trafford, which Ratcliffe hopes will " preserve the essence" of their current home.

The new stadium will form part of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already given Government backing to the plans.

United say the project has the potential to create 92,000 new jobs, bring an additional 1.8 million visitors to the area annually and will be worth an additional £7.3bn per year to the UK economy.

Old Traffords current capacity is 74,310, so the new stadium will accommodate more than 25,000 new spectators.

How will United fill it? And who will the be?

"Those Manchester United fans on the waiting list for season tickets may be disappointed if they thought the additional capacity of the stadium would result in many more season tickets becoming available," said Maguire.

"Manchester United have a huge global fan base who are more likely to be willing to pay higher prices than those available to season ticket holders. Liverpool have in recent years increased the capacity of Anfield from 45,000 to over 61,000 as owners Fenway Sports Group have made most of the extra tickets available to fans in the membership scheme rather than those who want to have a coveted season ticket."

In a statement, the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said fans "remain anxious" about the plans and whether it would drive up ticket prices and force out local supporters.

"We look forward to further consultation with supporters discussing these vital questions with the club. If they are able to produce a new stadium as stunning as the plans suggest without harming the atmosphere, without hiking ticket prices and without harming investment elsewhere, then this could be very exciting.

"But until the questions are answered, our optimism about plans to make Old Trafford the biggest and the best again will be restrained by caution about what the consequences for fans might be."

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Watch promotional film of Man Utds new stadium

Architects at Foster and Partners, who will design the project, said the new stadium would feature an umbrella design and a new public plaza that is "twice the size of Trafalgar Square".

The design will feature three masts described as "the trident", which the architects say will be 200 metres high and visible from 25 miles away.

"As you move away from the stadium, its not a fortress surrounded by a sea of cars. Its open, and its contained by an umbrella that harvests solar energy, harvests rainwater but its protective and it encloses arguably the largest public space in the world," said architect Norma Foster.

"And then the three masts, the trident, visible from 40kms, 200 metres high. So, this becomes a global destination.

"And then we rebuild the Old Trafford station and that becomes the pivot. The processional way to the stadium, welcoming at the heart of a new sport-led neighbourhood. Its walkable, its well served by public transport. Its endowed by nature.

"It learns from the past, it creates streets, its a mixed-use mini city"

Conceptual images of what the new stadium and surrounding area could look like were unveiled on Tuesday by Foster and Partners

The stadium will shelter a public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square

United say the stadium will be at the heart of a new sustainable district, which is completely walkable

United say they are "creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home"

The club say the stadium has the potential to deliver £7.3bn a year to the UK economy

The umbrella surrounding the stadium will harvest rainwater

Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force chair Lord Coe says the stadium is "the most exciting urban regeneration project in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics"

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