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Manchester United have announced the appointment of an “expert task force” to explore regenerating Old Trafford.
United announced on Friday the formation of a task force to explore options for regenerating Old Trafford. The club said in a statement that a “world-class football stadium” will be “at the heart of the project” as they aim to transform both Old Trafford and the surrounding area.
Lord Sebastian Coe will chair the task force and it will also include Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and former player Gary Neville. “The feasibility of a new stadium” will be explored, with the club aiming to construct a ground that is capable of hosting both club and international fixtures.
United issued a statement featuring a variety of quotes, from Neville, Burnham and new United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Neville said: “I’m incredibly fortunate to have had the privilege of playing hundreds of games at Old Trafford, and no one can take away those amazing memories. But Old Trafford has evolved throughout its history and it’s clear we are at a point where it has to change again to ensure that Manchester United has a world-class stadium befitting the world’s greatest club. While I want the best for Manchester United, I also want the same for the surrounding community. Old Trafford should be a stadium that the whole of Greater Manchester can take pride in, and be a catalyst for sustainable, cohesive growth in an area of the city that has been neglected for too long.”
Burnham added: “The development of one of the most iconic stadiums in world football will help attract investment, create jobs, and lead to new opportunities that will not just benefit Trafford but communities across our city-region and beyond. Greater Manchester has been a hive of innovation and creativity for centuries, and sport has played a huge role in shaping our past and present. This bold and exciting vision for the future of Old Trafford and the surrounding area can become another success story for our city-region.”
And Ratcliffe concluded: “This can be a major regeneration project for an area of Greater Manchester which has played such a key role in British industrial history, but which today requires new investment to thrive again. The north-west of England has a greater concentration of major football clubs than anywhere else in the world, yet we don’t have a stadium on the scale of Wembley, the Nou Camp or Bernabéu. We will not be able to change that on our own, which is why this task force is so important to help us seize this once-in-a-century opportunity.”
Old Trafford has not undergone any update since 2006, and the stadium has essentially been allowed to fall into disrepair under the ruinous ownership of the Glazer family. However, Ratcliffe and INEOS appear to be spearheading a drive to bring United’s facilities back in line with the top clubs across the continent; it remains to be seen, of course, if the club will have to move elsewhere for a season or two, as Tottenham Hotspur did when they relocated to Wembley while they were constructing their new stadium.
United have matters to attend to on the pitch as well as off it. They face Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, knowing they need to win if they are to cling onto any hope of a top-four finish; they are currently 11 points behind Aston Villa, who play fifth-placed Spurs on Sunday.
