Manchester United announced plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium in March, but club leaders had to be patient after a series of challenges in the development process.
Manchester United chairman Colette Roche has revealed the club is approaching a “milestone” moment in its Old Trafford redevelopment plan. At an event in London earlier this year, United unveiled scale models and images of what their new stadium, expected to cost £2bn, will look like.
However, many problems have occurred during the development stage, causing delays. But now Roche is confident the new year will mark the next phase of the project, with the launch of the Mayoral Development Corporation scheduled for January.
In an interview with Sky Sports, United’s chief operating officer explained: “We still have big ambitions to build a new stadium here at Old Trafford. There’s obviously a lot of work to do to get to that destination before we put a plow in the ground.
“We are currently in a number of discussions with local landowners to ensure we have the best possible land for this stadium, with the hope that it will be there for over 100 years, and we are doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work with local authorities to make that happen.
“They’re going to officially launch the Mayor’s Development Corporation in January and I think that’s a good milestone in terms of the wider regeneration. We’re really, really ambitious and there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes and we hope to be able to announce some big news soon.”
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One hurdle United Airlines must overcome is its relationship with Freightliner, which owns the rail yards surrounding Old Trafford. Securing that part of the site remains vital to the project and club officials are said to be confident of reaching an agreement.
In February, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe suggested the stadium could open as early as 2030. No government funding will go into the stadium itself, but it will support regeneration projects in the Trafford area.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, told The Added Time podcast: “We have really clear principles in starting this work with the Mayoral Development Corporation, so it’s not about giving them money.”
“Manchester United will be paying for the stadium and not a penny of public money will go into it.
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“But given the economic benefits it brings, we have an absolute role to play in making everything around the stadium as good as possible. If you think about it, there’s a station behind the stands there that hasn’t been used for years for safety reasons.”
“As part of that, the station will be relocated a little bit to Loo Macari Chippy or nearby, and that will be re-opened and it will be a huge benefit to the existing community, Ghost Hill, Stretford and the people who live there, so this public benefit is going to be huge.
“It’s much bigger than the ground itself because there are thousands of new homes, thousands of new jobs.”
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