New Stadium or Revamp Old Trafford | Aim is to build 100k seater stadium

Would you rather a new stadium or rebuild Old Trafford?

  • New stadium

    Votes: 1,041 57.3%

  • Rebuild Old Trafford

    Votes: 775 42.7%
  • Total voters
    1,816
LawCharltonBest said:
They built a massive Aldi near my old house within 6 months. Including dismantling the old site.

Why does this need to take 6 years?
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Because those Aldi builds are somewhat IKEA-style by design, and very straight forward. Everything is architecturally designed beforehand and made to be easily built on a template with lowest-cost materials. There's basically step-by-step instructions on how to build them. No wonder, just look at pictures of them. It's all function, not made to look great or solve any massive technical hurdles, like for example how to house and move 100 000 people without creating mass congestion.

This stadium will be a unique design, presenting unique challenges. First architects will have to actually design it. Then engineers will have to work out how to actually build it. Workers then will probably handle materials, compounds, build sets, combinations and both logistical and technical hurdles that are unique to this project. There's unfortunately no way to rush that. It's more likely to take longer than 6 years, than shorter. Most massive builds overshoot either budget, build time or both.
 
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Redivy said:
The best answer is a new stadium that has a unique look to it, as opposed to the generic glass house looking stadiums we see now. We should easily be able to incorporate the red bricks around the bottom section of the stadium to give it the Manchester touch. In fact you could replicate the whole frontage of the current stadium into the new ground.

In terms of facilities, it will basically be a copy of the best stadiums. I don't think there is any debate there. As an Australian, I was blown away by the limited leg room when I first visited Old Trafford, but I found that a common issue in multiple stadiums around England. That will need to be improved.
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Leg room has been a common problem in the UK for decades and its not just football stadiums that suffer with it. Go to the O2 in London (which was built relatively recently compared to some football stadiums) and its exactly the same. Don't even get me started on theatres, especially the established ones in London. A lot of these stadiums and entertainment venues were built pre-war and any extensions were done when people were still living off rations. People were skinny, so leg room and seat width wasn't an issue.
Nowadays most people carry a bit more timber, so any new stadiums or seating plans need to take that onboard. Im 6ft 3in, and no matter where I go, the leg room does my head in. The only place I've never had a problem with it, was at Spurs new stadium when I got the chance to go last year.

It wouldn't bother me if United built a new stadium with a 80k capacity, as long as the seats can take my chunky ass and my knees aren't crippled against the seat in front, thats all I want and I'd be happy.
 
Chipper said:
Yeah, I don't live too far way in Stretford. Was just scouting out potentials anyway.

Can't be knocking down a few blocks of Trafford Park warehouses and factories due to job losses. That wouldn't go down well.

Thought I spotted somwhere at the Trafford Centre, their overspill car park. It's near an empty patch of land too whcih could potentially be had and the BMW/Jaguar car showrooms on Barton Dock Rd that we'd probably have to buy up too. Good location with the motorway and metrolink now at the Trafford Centre. They'd be stupid to sell us that bit of the car park though, reducing their space and clogging up the remaining spaces with United fans on a matchday. The shoppers would have nowhere to park! Not going to happen.

On the other side of the Trafford Centre near Chill Factore there was a patch of land but they're building a fancy development on it called Trafford Waters right now. Perhaps too small anyway!

Gary Neville wanted to build training faciilities at Turn Moss in Stretford for Salford but that got knocked back after locals were protesting, wanting to preserve the green area. I wasn't protesting but I was glad, I like it there. Probably too small anyway and the roads round there couldn't cope with it.

They'd likely have to go all way out beyond where Salford rugby league club is up towards Worsley or even build it at Carrington if going for a new site.
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I think Turn Moss is also on a flood plain, so that didn't help his chances.

There's very little free land available around Manchester, is there? At least for a development of this size.
 
Someone said we should go big or go home and I agree. The freight terminal has to move and politicians in the area should make that happen. No modern cities should have a massive freight terminal blocking development so close to the city centre.

I also read someone wrote that the freight terminal is more important for the Trafford Park area than a sports stadium, but is that really the case though? It seems to me like the freight terminal handles cargo for large parts of the city and not just Trafford Park, it's just way too big for that. Such a huge train freight terminal should not be located near a city centre. It looks like there is actually 2 freight terminals so if it is really needed then keep the southern one for a while longer?

From what I understand, most stadiums are built on the north-south axis due to sun conditions and I believe we could find the space for that. Earlier someone commented that building the stadium over train lines or the canal could be a terrorist/bomb risk and I can see that. I would not build the actual stadium over the canal but I don't see a problem with covering part of the canal with a pedestrian square like the one in front of Old Trafford East Stand. I am pretty sure there would be space for a 100k north-south oriented stadium in between the train lines and the canal if we did that.

I did a quick sketch. Unfortunately I can't post links to pictures. Link with some additional * characters that will need to be removed below.

Sketch link:
https*://i.imgur.*com/tqezUch.*png

1 - Old Trafford (PINK)
With reduced capacity in Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and Stretford End.

2 - Trafford Stadium (BLACK)
New 100k capacity stadium.

3 - Square built over the canal (GREEN)
Would tie the new stadium together with Wharfside Wy., and the theatre together with Old Trafford and surrounding areas. From what I understand we actually own this land already so it shouldn't be hard to get done. Basically just a very wide bridge made with fancy materials. Boats would pass through the tunnel underneath just fine.

4 - YouTube Theatre (RED)
Similar to the one at SOFI Stadium which is 6k capacity.
Would provide entertainment in the area throughout the week, especially in evenings on weekends. Takes advantage of the stadium parking and public transport facilities. Would generate additional income for the club, also by selling the naming rights to Big Tech or similar. Selling the name of this theatre would be better than selling the name of the stadium.

I am picturing a combined stage and a huge screen that can slide down in front of the stage. It could show live games during Euros/World Cup or even live Man Utd matches if the actual stadium is sold out for the biggest games. Imagine sitting in a reclined seat watching Man Utd vs Real Madrid with 6k people in an indoor theatre right next to the sold out 100k stadium, and celebrating with them outside the stadium after the game. Possibly a nice alternative to going to a bar?

For concerts and shows it would be smaller than places like Manchester Arena so they wouldn't really compete against each other. Such a theatre could also show movies like they do at Hollywood Bowl Movie Nights.

5. Roof (CYAN)
Roof covering both the new stadium, the theatre and the area between, similar to the SOFI Stadium.

6. Trafford Stadium Station / Trafford Park Station / Old Trafford Station (YELLOW)
Looks like a great place for a passenger train station by the existing train lines. The club could even buy their own train, paint it red, put our logo on the side and install TV screens on board that shows highlights of past matches on the way to the stadium, while serving beer. Because why not?


BLUE is obviously parking areas. PURPLE for buses. ORANGE for fast food trucks or similar.

Not really sure what to do with the area to the south west. In the WHITE area I pictured a smaller freight/cargo handling area but now that I think about it, why not a huge bus station? That would be great to have right next to the train station and parking areas. Useful for the entire area I would assume. Having both a train station and a bus station would likely mean that we would never have issues with matchday transportation, even with the 100k stadium.

What do you think?
 
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I keep seeing people name the new stadium as 'New Trafford' or some variation.
The area is called Old Trafford so the new stadium on the same spot can still be Old Trafford.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
They built a massive Aldi near my old house within 6 months. Including dismantling the old site.

Why does this need to take 6 years?
Click to expand...
Because Aldi’s are just Walls and a Roof really with glass frontage. They go up in no time as they’re piss easy to build.

With a massive stadium you’ve got planning, design, feasibility estimates, cost estimates, land purchase, legals, surveys, enabling works, infrastructure, demolition, foundations, steelwork, concrete, other construction, commissioning, testing, and landscaping.
 
Top_Bins said:
I keep seeing people name the new stadium as 'New Trafford' or some variation.
The area is called Old Trafford so the new stadium on the same spot can still be Old Trafford.
Click to expand...

Old Trafford will still be there though, albeit adapted. Older Trafford? Herritage Trafford? The stadium simultaneously previously and currently known as Old Trafford?

Personally I'd name new stadium after Sir Alex and combine it with sponsor. The BMW Alex Ferguson stadium. Or something.
 
Avero said:
Someone said we should go big or go home and I agree. The freight terminal has to move and politicians in the area should make that happen. No modern cities should have a massive freight terminal blocking development so close to the city centre.

I also read someone wrote that the freight terminal is more important for the Trafford Park area than a sports stadium, but is that really the case though? It seems to me like the freight terminal handles cargo for large parts of the city and not just Trafford Park, it's just way too big for that. Such a huge train freight terminal should not be located near a city centre. It looks like there is actually 2 freight terminals so if it is really needed then keep the southern one for a while longer?

From what I understand, most stadiums are built on the north-south axis due to sun conditions and I believe we could find the space for that. Earlier someone commented that building the stadium over train lines or the canal could be a terrorist/bomb risk and I can see that. I would not build the actual stadium over the canal but I don't see a problem with covering part of the canal with a pedestrian square like the one in front of Old Trafford East Stand. I am pretty sure there would be space for a 100k north-south oriented stadium in between the train lines and the canal if we did that.

I did a quick sketch. Unfortunately I can't post links to pictures. Link with some additional * characters that will need to be removed below.

Sketch link:
https*://i.imgur.*com/tqezUch.*png

1 - Old Trafford (PINK)
With reduced capacity in Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and Stretford End.

2 - Trafford Stadium (BLACK)
New 100k capacity stadium.

3 - Square built over the canal (GREEN)
Would tie the new stadium together with Wharfside Wy., and the theatre together with Old Trafford and surrounding areas. From what I understand we actually own this land already so it shouldn't be hard to get done. Basically just a very wide bridge made with fancy materials. Boats would pass through the tunnel underneath just fine.

4 - YouTube Theatre (RED)
Similar to the one at SOFI Stadium which is 6k capacity.
Would provide entertainment in the area throughout the week, especially in evenings on weekends. Takes advantage of the stadium parking and public transport facilities. Would generate additional income for the club, also by selling the naming rights to Big Tech or similar. Selling the name of this theatre would be better than selling the name of the stadium.

I am picturing a combined stage and a huge screen that can slide down in front of the stage. It could show live games during Euros/World Cup or even live Man Utd matches if the actual stadium is sold out for the biggest games. Imagine sitting in a reclined seat watching Man Utd vs Real Madrid with 6k people in an indoor theatre right next to the sold out 100k stadium, and celebrating with them outside the stadium after the game. Possibly a nice alternative to going to a bar?

For concerts and shows it would be smaller than places like Manchester Arena so they wouldn't really compete against each other. Such a theatre could also show movies like they do at Hollywood Bowl Movie Nights.

5. Roof (CYAN)
Roof covering both the new stadium, the theatre and the area between, similar to the SOFI Stadium.

6. Trafford Stadium Station / Trafford Park Station / Old Trafford Station (YELLOW)
Looks like a great place for a passenger train station by the existing train lines. The club could even buy their own train, paint it red, put our logo on the side and install TV screens on board that shows highlights of past matches on the way to the stadium, while serving beer. Because why not?


BLUE is obviously parking areas. PURPLE for buses. ORANGE for fast food trucks or similar.

Not really sure what to do with the area to the south west. In the WHITE area I pictured a smaller freight/cargo handling area but now that I think about it, why not a huge bus station? That would be great to have right next to the train station and parking areas. Useful for the entire area I would assume. Having both a train station and a bus station would likely mean that we would never have issues with matchday transportation, even with the 100k stadium.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
That was me and you don't appear to be very familiar with the wider area

Trafford Park is one of the largest industrial estate/business park in Europe, it's home to over 1,300 companies that employ over 35,000 people, some of those will be dependent on the rail terminal, it is also part of the national infrastructure and even moving it has huge consequences for supply chains across the country/

https://www.railfreight.com/uk/2024/06/27/manchester-uniteds-rail-freight-dilemma/ is a good artilce that explains some of the issues involved
 
Top_Bins said:
I keep seeing people name the new stadium as 'New Trafford' or some variation.
The area is called Old Trafford so the new stadium on the same spot can still be Old Trafford.
Click to expand...
I did say ''New Trafford'' just as an example, a name that would keep the identity and soul of the club. Maybe not the best name but I think fans would be happy with something like that. I think Trafford should be in the name.

How about ''Oud Trafford'', that's old in Dutch. That's a joke, by the way.
 
Old Trafford is the Theatre of Dreams. The new stadium will be the Home of Champions.
 
Red in STL said:
That was me and you don't appear to be very familiar with the wider area

Trafford Park is one of the largest industrial estate/business park in Europe, it's home to over 1,300 companies that employ over 35,000 people, some of those will be dependent on the rail terminal, it is also part of the national infrastructure and even moving it has huge consequences for supply chains across the country/

https://www.railfreight.com/uk/2024/06/27/manchester-uniteds-rail-freight-dilemma/ is a good artilce that explains some of the issues involved
Click to expand...
You are right about that. I am not. But I still haven't found a good explanation for why moving it a few kilometers would be so bad. At such a freight terminal they basically load/unload containers and use forklifts to move contents to/from trucks. Moving the terminal would just mean that the trucks in some cases would drive a little longer to reach the final destination.

Quoting from the article: "However, this terminal, located just to the west of Old Trafford, plays a vital role in the region’s logistics network, handling a significant volume of freight traffic. The Maritime and DB Cargo terminal, along with Freightliner’s nearby Manchester Terminal, is integral to the UK’s freight infrastructure. Freightliner’s Manchester Terminal alone handles around 20 daily services to and from major deep-sea ports, supporting the regional and national economy by facilitating efficient cargo movement."

It seems to serve more than just the immediate nearby area. As I suggested you could keep the Maritime and DB Cargo terminal where it is and only move the Freightliner terminal. Spreading the freight/truck traffic over 2 locations might be a good thing. The remaining terminal is quite big and should be able to handle the needs of Trafford Park itself just fine?
 
Avero said:
Someone said we should go big or go home and I agree. The freight terminal has to move and politicians in the area should make that happen. No modern cities should have a massive freight terminal blocking development so close to the city centre.

I also read someone wrote that the freight terminal is more important for the Trafford Park area than a sports stadium, but is that really the case though? It seems to me like the freight terminal handles cargo for large parts of the city and not just Trafford Park, it's just way too big for that. Such a huge train freight terminal should not be located near a city centre. It looks like there is actually 2 freight terminals so if it is really needed then keep the southern one for a while longer?

From what I understand, most stadiums are built on the north-south axis due to sun conditions and I believe we could find the space for that. Earlier someone commented that building the stadium over train lines or the canal could be a terrorist/bomb risk and I can see that. I would not build the actual stadium over the canal but I don't see a problem with covering part of the canal with a pedestrian square like the one in front of Old Trafford East Stand. I am pretty sure there would be space for a 100k north-south oriented stadium in between the train lines and the canal if we did that.

I did a quick sketch. Unfortunately I can't post links to pictures. Link with some additional * characters that will need to be removed below.

Sketch link:
https*://i.imgur.*com/tqezUch.*png

1 - Old Trafford (PINK)
With reduced capacity in Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and Stretford End.

2 - Trafford Stadium (BLACK)
New 100k capacity stadium.

3 - Square built over the canal (GREEN)
Would tie the new stadium together with Wharfside Wy., and the theatre together with Old Trafford and surrounding areas. From what I understand we actually own this land already so it shouldn't be hard to get done. Basically just a very wide bridge made with fancy materials. Boats would pass through the tunnel underneath just fine.

4 - YouTube Theatre (RED)
Similar to the one at SOFI Stadium which is 6k capacity.
Would provide entertainment in the area throughout the week, especially in evenings on weekends. Takes advantage of the stadium parking and public transport facilities. Would generate additional income for the club, also by selling the naming rights to Big Tech or similar. Selling the name of this theatre would be better than selling the name of the stadium.

I am picturing a combined stage and a huge screen that can slide down in front of the stage. It could show live games during Euros/World Cup or even live Man Utd matches if the actual stadium is sold out for the biggest games. Imagine sitting in a reclined seat watching Man Utd vs Real Madrid with 6k people in an indoor theatre right next to the sold out 100k stadium, and celebrating with them outside the stadium after the game. Possibly a nice alternative to going to a bar?

For concerts and shows it would be smaller than places like Manchester Arena so they wouldn't really compete against each other. Such a theatre could also show movies like they do at Hollywood Bowl Movie Nights.

5. Roof (CYAN)
Roof covering both the new stadium, the theatre and the area between, similar to the SOFI Stadium.

6. Trafford Stadium Station / Trafford Park Station / Old Trafford Station (YELLOW)
Looks like a great place for a passenger train station by the existing train lines. The club could even buy their own train, paint it red, put our logo on the side and install TV screens on board that shows highlights of past matches on the way to the stadium, while serving beer. Because why not?


BLUE is obviously parking areas. PURPLE for buses. ORANGE for fast food trucks or similar.

Not really sure what to do with the area to the south west. In the WHITE area I pictured a smaller freight/cargo handling area but now that I think about it, why not a huge bus station? That would be great to have right next to the train station and parking areas. Useful for the entire area I would assume. Having both a train station and a bus station would likely mean that we would never have issues with matchday transportation, even with the 100k stadium.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

But who will pay for that? United would have to buy the land the Terminal is on currently, no idea how much that would cost. Then new land along the railway would have to be found and purchased, a new terminal built along with the infrastructure necessary to get trains to and from it.

That all sounds expensive and would probably need government funding.
 
Avero said:
Someone said we should go big or go home and I agree. The freight terminal has to move and politicians in the area should make that happen. No modern cities should have a massive freight terminal blocking development so close to the city centre.

I also read someone wrote that the freight terminal is more important for the Trafford Park area than a sports stadium, but is that really the case though? It seems to me like the freight terminal handles cargo for large parts of the city and not just Trafford Park, it's just way too big for that. Such a huge train freight terminal should not be located near a city centre. It looks like there is actually 2 freight terminals so if it is really needed then keep the southern one for a while longer?

From what I understand, most stadiums are built on the north-south axis due to sun conditions and I believe we could find the space for that. Earlier someone commented that building the stadium over train lines or the canal could be a terrorist/bomb risk and I can see that. I would not build the actual stadium over the canal but I don't see a problem with covering part of the canal with a pedestrian square like the one in front of Old Trafford East Stand. I am pretty sure there would be space for a 100k north-south oriented stadium in between the train lines and the canal if we did that.

I did a quick sketch. Unfortunately I can't post links to pictures. Link with some additional * characters that will need to be removed below.

Sketch link:
https*://i.imgur.*com/tqezUch.*png

1 - Old Trafford (PINK)
With reduced capacity in Sir Alex Ferguson Stand and Stretford End.

2 - Trafford Stadium (BLACK)
New 100k capacity stadium.

3 - Square built over the canal (GREEN)
Would tie the new stadium together with Wharfside Wy., and the theatre together with Old Trafford and surrounding areas. From what I understand we actually own this land already so it shouldn't be hard to get done. Basically just a very wide bridge made with fancy materials. Boats would pass through the tunnel underneath just fine.

4 - YouTube Theatre (RED)
Similar to the one at SOFI Stadium which is 6k capacity.
Would provide entertainment in the area throughout the week, especially in evenings on weekends. Takes advantage of the stadium parking and public transport facilities. Would generate additional income for the club, also by selling the naming rights to Big Tech or similar. Selling the name of this theatre would be better than selling the name of the stadium.

I am picturing a combined stage and a huge screen that can slide down in front of the stage. It could show live games during Euros/World Cup or even live Man Utd matches if the actual stadium is sold out for the biggest games. Imagine sitting in a reclined seat watching Man Utd vs Real Madrid with 6k people in an indoor theatre right next to the sold out 100k stadium, and celebrating with them outside the stadium after the game. Possibly a nice alternative to going to a bar?

For concerts and shows it would be smaller than places like Manchester Arena so they wouldn't really compete against each other. Such a theatre could also show movies like they do at Hollywood Bowl Movie Nights.

5. Roof (CYAN)
Roof covering both the new stadium, the theatre and the area between, similar to the SOFI Stadium.

6. Trafford Stadium Station / Trafford Park Station / Old Trafford Station (YELLOW)
Looks like a great place for a passenger train station by the existing train lines. The club could even buy their own train, paint it red, put our logo on the side and install TV screens on board that shows highlights of past matches on the way to the stadium, while serving beer. Because why not?


BLUE is obviously parking areas. PURPLE for buses. ORANGE for fast food trucks or similar.

Not really sure what to do with the area to the south west. In the WHITE area I pictured a smaller freight/cargo handling area but now that I think about it, why not a huge bus station? That would be great to have right next to the train station and parking areas. Useful for the entire area I would assume. Having both a train station and a bus station would likely mean that we would never have issues with matchday transportation, even with the 100k stadium.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Interesting ideas. A train terminal can definitely be moved if planned correctly with local/regional authorities, and can even lead to benefits by putting it into a place that improves connections, distribution and overall freight traffic.

On the new stadium development, one thing I've been thinking about that would be cool is having the downsized version of Old Trafford in such a way where some or all those inside it have a view of the new one.

If done right, that area has an opportunity for ending up with a beautiful and wholesome set up.
 
Top_Bins said:
I keep seeing people name the new stadium as 'New Trafford' or some variation.
The area is called Old Trafford so the new stadium on the same spot can still be Old Trafford.
Click to expand...

It'll be a sponsor named stadium which I'm fine with. Old Trafford will always be the current stadium which I hope will live on in some form. So we can't have 2 stadiums named Old Trafford.

Snapdragon Arena at Old Trafford or something similar I'd imagine.
 
stevoc said:
It'll be a sponsor named stadium which I'm fine with. Old Trafford will always be the current stadium which I hope will live on in some form. So we can't have 2 stadiums named Old Trafford.

Snapdragon Arena at Old Trafford or something similar I'd imagine.
Click to expand...
For a new stadium, I would take it. Makes me super excited
 
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Red in STL said:
https://www.railfreight.com/uk/2024/06/27/manchester-uniteds-rail-freight-dilemma/ is a good artilce that explains some of the issues involved
Click to expand...
I hope we knock it down just for the snarky comment about United fans in the first paragraph.

"The stadium would be even bigger than the existing arena, and may have up to 90000 seats. That’s an increase of more than 15000. Apparently, some Manchester United fans actually do attend games."

What the feck is he getting at there?
 
Big Andy said:
I hope we knock it down just for the snarky comment about United fans in the first paragraph.

"The stadium would be even bigger than the existing arena, and may have up to 90000 seats. That’s an increase of more than 15000. Apparently, some Manchester United fans actually do attend games."

What the feck is he getting at there?
Click to expand...
Clearly got us mixed up with City.
 
decorativeed said:
I think Turn Moss is also on a flood plain, so that didn't help his chances.

There's very little free land available around Manchester, is there? At least for a development of this size.
Click to expand...

Yes, they were talking about putting in draining for Salford's training centre and it does get bad round there. I attended Stretfod Grammar in my youth that backs onto Turn Moss and there were deep puddles on the school field whenever there was consistent rain. A no go for a number of reasons, and an actual stadium would be almost impossible there.

Not many options at all. There's a lot of green up near Simister Island, the other side of Heaton Park where there are farms and a golf course. Fantastic motorway links in theory but it's so far out, not a part of the world you'd associaote with United. I don't know what the ground is like, might have thought things would have been built on it already if it was easy to build on. There's also no major roads for buses or nearby rail/tram, it's just the motorways meeting there.
 
There was talk about moving all rail freight through the Port Salford development and converting the current lines into passenger lines to ease congestion into Victoria and Picadilly. That would mean you can get rid of the freight terminal and turn it into a regular railway station.

Extra land for a new stadium plus all the other associated developments. And a new passenger station right next Old Trafford connected to the city centre.
 
stevoc said:
But who will pay for that? United would have to buy the land the Terminal is on currently, no idea how much that would cost. Then new land along the railway would have to be found and purchased, a new terminal built along with the infrastructure necessary to get trains to and from it.

That all sounds expensive and would probably need government funding.
Click to expand...
Ideally some public money and the owners. The new land along the railway that would be suitable is likely already owned by the city and they should give that for free. When the taskforce and Sir Jim are as confident as they are, I am sure that funding is not going to be a problem in the end.

I would think that the Glazers would be interested in supporting this also, maybe with some of the money they got from selling to Sir Jim. If they do not contribute financially at all, I think pretty much everyone will remember them as pure scum and leeches and you would think they would like to avoid that. I realize some already think of them that way but it would get even worse over time.

I just realized that boats on the canal actually take people to Old Trafford for matches. Maybe this could be expanded further. If we did something like the sketch i posted above we would actually have a proper passenger train station, a full size bus station and a fancy dock for fans to arrive by boats on the canal. All right outside the stadium. That would be impressive and truly unique even in a worldwide view. Likely the only club in the world with such facilities.
 
stevoc said:
It'll be a sponsor named stadium which I'm fine with. Old Trafford will always be the current stadium which I hope will live on in some form. So we can't have 2 stadiums named Old Trafford.

Snapdragon Arena at Old Trafford or something similar I'd imagine.
Click to expand...
Of course it will always be known as Old Trafford to fans and I can see the benefits of separate naming rights.

Old Trafford was re-built after the war and it was still known as Old Trafford. I don't see the point in picking a new name if you want to preserve history. We can always incorporate parts of the old ground into the new as reminders of that history.

Perhaps the front portion of the original tunnel using the reclaimed brick? The various statues and Munich clock.
Make them centrepieces of the design to really celebrate that history whilst moving forward.

The only problem with this is where do we play while it's happening?
 
Bert_ said:
There was talk about moving all rail freight through the Port Salford development and converting the current lines into passenger lines to ease congestion into Victoria and Picadilly. That would mean you can get rid of the freight terminal and turn it into a regular railway station.

Extra land for a new stadium plus all the other associated developments. And a new passenger station right next Old Trafford connected to the city centre.
Click to expand...
The current line is used by passenger services already. I think the talk there is that by moving the freight depot elsewhere, it removes freight services from that track and frees up capacity.

Obviously, there already is a train station at the ground, but the access is terrible and the services are too few to be of any use on a match day. Ideally they could do with operating a shuttle service from Piccadilly to a new terminus station at the ground sited somewhere around the west of the Stretford End, and north of the current tracks.
 
decorativeed said:
The current line is used by passenger services already. I think the talk there is that by moving the freight depot elsewhere, it removes freight services from that track and frees up capacity.

Obviously, there already is a train station at the ground, but the access is terrible and the services are too few to be of any use on a match day. Ideally they could do with operating a shuttle service from Piccadilly to a new terminus station at the ground sited somewhere around the west of the Stretford End, and north of the current tracks.
Click to expand...
Yeah the current tracks shared use between passenger and freight. The idea being if you take away the freight, the more room for passenger services.

They killed the train service to OT a few years ago. I'd hardly call it a train station either but I know what you mean.

In theory, if you could remove freight then you could have more regular trains on the line that goes through deansgate > Oxford road > picadilly from OT. Would ease congestion on trams and probably road traffic too if people could park and ride. Build a nice station/stop with proper facilities to support the volume of people in matchdays.

If the area is to be developed so there is more reason to visit than just going to football or cricket, then it serves that purpose too.
 
decorativeed said:
The current line is used by passenger services already. I think the talk there is that by moving the freight depot elsewhere, it removes freight services from that track and frees up capacity.

Obviously, there already is a train station at the ground, but the access is terrible and the services are too few to be of any use on a match day. Ideally they could do with operating a shuttle service from Piccadilly to a new terminus station at the ground sited somewhere around the west of the Stretford End, and north of the current tracks.
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This is exactly what will happen. It is to everyone's benefit. Keep freight away from the Oxford Road/Castlefield bottleneck, there will be a new station there in the coming years and eliminating freight would ease the pain in that part of the network. A proper train station in Trafford would benefit thousands in the local area too. It wouldn't just be a match day service.
 
In addition to the sketch in post #2165 I would suggest a new bridge over the train line to give the area south of Old Trafford direct access to the west side of the stadium / bus & train stations. Parking area could be reserved for Man Utd on matchdays but otherwise open.

Link to sketch showing possible new road/bridge:
https*://i.imgur.*com/u7NuQhU.*jpeg

* characters will need to be removed.
 
Top_Bins said:
Of course it will always be known as Old Trafford to fans and I can see the benefits of separate naming rights.

Old Trafford was re-built after the war and it was still known as Old Trafford. I don't see the point in picking a new name if you want to preserve history. We can always incorporate parts of the old ground into the new as reminders of that history.

Perhaps the front portion of the original tunnel using the reclaimed brick? The various statues and Munich clock.
Make them centrepieces of the design to really celebrate that history whilst moving forward.

The only problem with this is where do we play while it's happening?
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Yes but that was rebuilding the stadium after it was bombed. It was the same stadium on the same site. So obviously it would still be called OT.

This would be different. It'd be a new stadium built on a different site while OT would probably survive in some form.

You can't have two stadiums both called Old Trafford.
 
Avero said:
Ideally some public money and the owners. The new land along the railway that would be suitable is likely already owned by the city and they should give that for free. When the taskforce and Sir Jim are as confident as they are, I am sure that funding is not going to be a problem in the end.

I would think that the Glazers would be interested in supporting this also, maybe with some of the money they got from selling to Sir Jim. If they do not contribute financially at all, I think pretty much everyone will remember them as pure scum and leeches and you would think they would like to avoid that. I realize some already think of them that way but it would get even worse over time.

I just realized that boats on the canal actually take people to Old Trafford for matches. Maybe this could be expanded further. If we did something like the sketch i posted above we would actually have a proper passenger train station, a full size bus station and a fancy dock for fans to arrive by boats on the canal. All right outside the stadium. That would be impressive and truly unique even in a worldwide view. Likely the only club in the world with such facilities.
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Is there such a site though?

That freight terminal is massive.


The rest all sounds great. Don't know how realistic it is in the current political climate though. Loads of public services are desperate for more funding. Can't imagine it would be popular for the government and councils to donate probably hundreds of millions to a football club.
 
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