Manchester United announce plan to build new 100,000-seater stadium

Manchester United have announced plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium next to the existing Old Trafford on Tuesday, March 11. The new stadium will be the centrepiece of the Old Trafford regeneration project by United.

In Short

• The new stadium is expected to be the biggest one in England
• The new stadium area is expected to deliver an additional 7.3 billion pounds per year to the UK economy
• Old Trafford has drawn criticism in recent times due to leaky roofs

Manchester United on Tuesday, March 11, announced their desire to build a two-billion-pound 100,000-seat stadium next to the existing Old Trafford. The new stadium is expected to be the biggest in Britain as part of the club's plans to regenerate the Old Trafford area.

United have appointed Foster + Partners to develop the stadium district and the firm revealed the conceptual images and scaled models of the new home for the club and its surrounding area. United are hoping that the regeneration project will deliver an additional 7.3 billion pounds per year to the UK economy and create 92,000 new jobs and more than 17,000 new homes.

The new architectural design shows that the stadium will feature an umbrella design.

'Old Trafford has fallen behind best arenas'

Jim Ratcliffe, the co-owner of United, said that Old Trafford has served the club well for 115 years but has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport. Ratcliffe said the idea to build the new stadium next to Old Trafford was to preserve the essence of the current home of the Red Devils.

“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford.

“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport. By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience, only footsteps from our historic home," said Ratcliffe.

Norman Foster, Foster + Partners' executive chairman, said that this will be one of the most exciting projects in the world today and the idea of the new stadium will be to bring the fans closer to pitch.

"This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today," said Foster. "It all starts with the fans' experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar."

"The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square."

Old Trafford hasn't seen any redevelopment since 2006 and in the past few seasons, criticism around the stadium has grown due to leaky roofs and rodent sightings.