Manchester United's bold new stadium plans already delayed by dispute with freight train company

Independent

3 days ago

Manchester United 's bold plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium beside replace Old Trafford have already hit a major hindrance.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe unveiled drawings earlier this year for a new venue to replace the tired existing ground, which has been poorly maintained under the Glazer family's ownership.
The plans included major new housing, leisure and retail space around the ground to transform the area into an attractive destination that offers visitors more than just football.
United has proposed building the £2bn stadium themselves. The futuristic design – by celebrated architest Sir Norman Foster 's firm Foster + Partners – is inspired by the Red Devils Trident, and is dominated by three huge spindles or masts in a trident formation, giving the project the impression of something of a circus tent.
But the club are looking for both local government and Trafford Council to support the wider scheme.
However, progress has already halted as the club negotiates with local landowner Freightliner, which owns a train terminal close to Old Trafford. United value the land at £40-50m but Freightliner has demanded £400m and talks are at an impasse, according to the Guardian.
United remain confident the ambitious timescale of completing the project within five to six years can be met, with sights set on hosting the Women's World Cup final in 2035 when the tournament is hosted on the British Isles.
A taskforce convened by Ratcliffe, chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe, estimated the regeneration project could bring an extra £7.3bn to the British economy and create 92,000 jobs.
Chief executive Omar Berrada said at the time: 'Our long-term objective as a club is to have the world's best football team playing in the world's best stadium', with Old Trafford - which has been United's home since 1909 - deemed to have 'fallen behind', in Ratcliffe's words.
"I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world," the billionaire added.
Two of the three masts will reach 150m in height, with the tallest - at the apex of the trident - 200m, significantly taller than the tallest building in Manchester, the 169m Beetham Tower, and towering over Wembley's 135m mast. The plan for the masts is for them to be visible for up to 37.4km - so residents of parts of Cheshire, the Peak District, and even the outskirts of Liverpool will be able to see at least some of the stadium.
Alongside the stadium will be a huge plaza, "twice the size of Trafalgar Square" according to the architects, with the material connecting the masts extending to cover this outside space.
Foster has said the stadium will take five years to build, and will be a 'prefabrication' built elsewhere and transported down the Manchester Ship Canal in 160 component pieces.
Ratcliffe has not stated when building work to begin, but said: 'It depends how quickly the government get going with their regeneration. I think they want to get going quite quickly. I assume that will go well. The thing that allows us to do that is the Manchester Ship Canal, that halves the time.'
The government has already given its backing to the project.