Good shout, would mean much of the building work could get underway without having to immediately raise Old Trafford.
Old Trafford revamp/could be torn down and rebuilt according to Glazer plans
- Thread starter GE
- Start date
Is the 2030 WC even going to be in Uruguay?
Option A looks great, and is all that is really needed with a bit of an upgrade to the concourses. The other two are soulless and unidentifiable as OT. They also stick out of the surroundings like a sore thumb.
They are part of a joint bid with Chile and Paraguay and Argentina. It’s not been awarded yet but the tournament can’t go to Asia or North America under FIFA rules to they stand a good chance.
A looks symmetrical but the metal beams at the top of the roof is looking very dated post-industrial look. C was the worst.
Though I don't like the actual design, the concept of option c would bring so many long term benefits.
They should expand Charlton stand by 10 to 15,000.
That would bring total capacity up to 84 to 88,000.
Then renovate the other stands gradually over 5 or 6 years. Maybe we'd have lower capacity for a few years.
I think there's real value in retaining a pitch graced by Best, Charlton, Cantona, Rooney etc.
Also dugouts used by Busby and Fergie.
Culture and history is very important although a brand new state of the art stadium would be cool also but maybe soulless
Neat animation!
Option A really helps with visualizing how building over the railway line might be done. It would give the needed increase in capacity and could add more hospitality seats to replace those taken out of the Stretford End. As you say, upgrading the concourses, along with general stadium improvements would do wonders without a complete rebuild.
Option B doesn’t make a lot of sense to me if it leaves the capacity the same as now and spends a ton of money on wrapping the stadium with a new facade. Even making the option A changes and then wrapping the stadium seems like a waste of money.
Option C is a reasonable idea, although I don’t like their specific example of a new stadium. I’m sure someone could do much better. Even some of the AI generated images people have posted look much better, even if I haven’t managed to generate a good one myself.
Whatever the outcome I'll certainly hope we'd increase the overall capacity, 100k sounds good enough.
How does option A solve the really cramp leg space ?
More standing areas in the worst parts of the ground for leg space would be a short term solution.
Short term solutions are not needed. We need a proper long term solution and the best way to do that is likely to be a full rebuild
I don't see why standing terraces can't come back.
I prefer A. C is OK too, but B seems pointless.
No. The only solution for that is a substantial rebuild of the stands (or shorter legs).
I’m guessing C, if you were the new owners and wanted to maximise your ability to overcome FFP an extra 25-30k seats would help that a lot.
I'd prefer a rebuild.
The stretford end itself should be a single tier stand - and the biggest single tier stand in Europe. The atmosphere in the ground would be electric especially with a massive standing section that makes up the bottom 2/3 of it.
The stretford end itself should be a single tier stand - and the biggest single tier stand in Europe. The atmosphere in the ground would be electric especially with a massive standing section that makes up the bottom 2/3 of it.
Nah, option ‘C’ is by far the best choice. There’s even a training pitch included within the footprint.
Dont understand why people want a new stadium rather than renovate Old Trafford. It's an iconic stadium and a huge part of our history. That being torn down would be a big shame IMO. You can't underestimate that value. Ultimately, it is a stadium made to watch football. Nothing will change that much that makes general seats and a football pitch and 2 locker rooms that outdated. Renovate, fix up, 100%. But a brand new stadium and tearing down the field that all the legends that shaped us graced? feck that
Regarding Option C - It would be cool if instead of leaning into the futuristic space age aesthetic that dominates new stadiums these days, if they could develop something unique with a retro feel that ties into the rest of Manchester's classic industrial aesthetic.
Personally, I hope they go with option A and keep the framework of Old Trafford intact.
They look like bed pans
Could United fill a 100k stadium every game? 110k?
There has always been a problem with airflow and sunlight across the OT pitch to help dry it out and encourage the grass to grow properly. These 'bowl' designs could lead to problems, but then again raising the roof of the 'old stand' could as well.
As long as the new owner or investor finds the money to invest in a rebuild or extension, the UEFA financial problems will be solved as soon as contracts are signed. It will dwarf any transfer issues. l
As long as the new owner or investor finds the money to invest in a rebuild or extension, the UEFA financial problems will be solved as soon as contracts are signed. It will dwarf any transfer issues. l
Renovating Old Trafford should obviously be preferred, as there's no reason to knock it down if you can avoid doing so.
But typically attempting to renovate an older building will impose practical limitations on designs that obviously aren't present if you are starting from scratch. Obviously you'd need an expert opinion on what those limitations and trade-offs might be in this specific case but it would be quite typical to end up deciding that opting to renovate the older building is prohibitively impractical and expensive. And of course the amount of money you're willing to spend dictates the limits of practicality and expense. Without knowing the details it's impossible to say which is the best option in the long run.
Also it may be a minor point but from the owner's POV they would be free to name a new stadium after a given sponsor without the sort of resistance you'd get at the idea of renaming Old Trafford. Depending on the owner's plans for the club, that may be a factor in their thinking if not the fans'.
There are too many benefits to a comp new build in my opinion.
- Better atmosphere as the current roof design holds noise in each stand. Also better sight lines. Being at the top of the stands and not being able to see the rest of the ground sucks.
- New standing areas, single tier Stratford end.
- Better legroom, concourses, toilets for fans. More escalators to get fans to the upper tiers and lifts for disabled fans.
- Better facilities for the players and staff. Back room staff teams have grown massively since the 90’s.
- More seats, more corporate hospitality brings more revenue.
At the end of the day rebuilding the ground stand by stand doesn’t somehow preserve history. When you can’t stop looking back at the past is when you aren’t winning things in the present.
Build new and call it The Theatre of Dreams. That would be a nod to history while moving the club forward and making it future proof for another 100 years.
They seem to solve those issues in the last 10 years. The pitch always seems so good now. I know in the 90’s after the big stands went up they had issues and we’d often relay it in the summer.
Yes, like the Lucas Oil stadium.
Would be an overkill. Nothing worse than empty seats in a stadium.
Plus - can the infrastructure around Old Trafford handle an extra 25k fans per game?
Whatever course they take with the stadium, it would be nice if they were at least somewhat creative with the aesthetic. Even a look that divided opinions but is at least striking and recognisable would be better than a safe, generic looking bowl.
Oh yeah it fully makes sense from an owner perspective. From a fan perspective, I'm shocked that it's not 100% just get Old Trafford up to scratch.
I've said it before but obviously it's going to be different to other folk. I've only been to Old Trafford about ten times in my long and miserable life.
It's a building, it's not what makes my memories of the place special. The fans beside me, my dad being with me even though he is an Evertonian, Sir Alex flapping his arms down below as Keano reminded an oppo twat whose city he was in. Doing my best to not make eye contact with the gobby wifey still selling half and half scarves as we left, remembering we parked up near the cricket ground and swearing quietly. Those things made it all special.
It's a building, it's not what makes my memories of the place special. The fans beside me, my dad being with me even though he is an Evertonian, Sir Alex flapping his arms down below as Keano reminded an oppo twat whose city he was in. Doing my best to not make eye contact with the gobby wifey still selling half and half scarves as we left, remembering we parked up near the cricket ground and swearing quietly. Those things made it all special.
Simply sticking a new roof on the north, east and west stands (and building up south stand) isn't "renovation"
To add, if you make the stadium multipurpose, the income increases, which benefits FFP, and our ability to spend.
The fans support will make the stadium.
OT has been renovated multiple times over the years, there's a limit to how much you can do that
The OT of today bears little resemblance to the one I used to go to from the mid-70's until the late 90's, to renovate will cost as much as it would to rebuild apparently so the latter makes more sense IMO
On the animation, option B makes no sense, Option A is still problematic, the rail line may still be an issue, closing that for any length of time is problematic because of the rail terminal which is not going anywhere, that may restrict what could actually be done
Option C is a horrible look but the placement makes sense, a better looking design might just work there
I’m all for a new stadium (always have been)
Something the same as Wembley but with the top tier all level would easily reach 100,000 capacity with a surrounding football village would be perfect!
Something the same as Wembley but with the top tier all level would easily reach 100,000 capacity with a surrounding football village would be perfect!
As nice as a football village would be I'm not sure it's practical, an increase in capacity is something the area may not be able to handle, some of the land will be needed for car/coach parking and I suspect the public transport section is probably operating at max capacity
Indeed. I'm sure the club would always want to make as much income as possible from the stadium, but if FFP constraints are something we may encounter in the future then that perhaps gives fans slightly more reason to be interested in the income it generates too.
FFP is real. Some fans are just too emotional. Things move on. We have to move on.