09 Jun 2020 16:48:34
Something away from transfers. I really do think Old Trafford as iconic as it is just is not up to standard for a club of our size. I am not referring to just adding more seats but the whole stadium including the changing rooms and general structure seem outdated.

I look across at some of the NFL's stadiums that have been built or are being built I can't help but feel we are lagging behind in that department. I'm sure traditionalists will not have any of it but I was curious to see if money was not an issue would people be opposed to building a new old trafford. There will be people saying it's not feasible etc but it's a hypothetical question. I think the commercial benefits sponsorships hospitality etc can increase our appeal further. What do others think?

1.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 17:20:53
Well it’s still the biggest stadium in the premier league. Personally I would find it hard to move from Old Trafford to somewhere new.

In all honesty I think the stadium needs maintenance and some improvements. If we could expand that would be great, but I’m not sure we need to move. Arsenal don’t seem to have done to well moving from Highbury to the emirates.

2.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 17:36:17
I can't remember who said it but "to be a king you need to live like a king".

We can't act like a big club while living in a crumbling house. It's just pretending.

Our home needs to be our castle, it should be as grand as it is iconic.

All that said though I think there is a middle ground. We don't have to choose between living in a wreck or building a new stadium.

A new stadium would cost at least 500m, if not more. Or around half of what we have spent on transfers in the past 7 years.

Whereas for 250m or half what a new stadium would cost or around as much as we have spent in 18 months. We could completely revamp Old Trafford. Put on a new roof, install big screens, expand seating capacity, knock down walls and create better spaces, redecorate the whole stadium from top to bottom.

That way we would keep our iconic home AND be in a stadium fit for a top side.

3.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 18:02:10
I think you are kidding yourself when you think old trafford doesn't need a COMPLETE overhaul. In terms of cost a roof alone would cost 200m+ seeing as the roof at Wimbledon which is much much smaller than what we would have cost around 100m. 500m unfortunately shappy if that's the budget we may aswell not bother the cost of the some of these new stadiums they have in the nfl are well over a billion and they are not Manchester united.
The point of the discussion was not cost but opinion on the state of old Trafford and can people move away from sentiment.

4.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 18:41:10
Some of the NFL stadiums are amazing and OT is always going to come a poor second, the cowboys stadium is amazing but its cost 1.2 billion .

5.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 19:19:57
Love the cowboys stadium our stadium doesn't compare. Is it just me (and I'm biased) but should we not expect utd to be not only the biggest club in football but the biggest sports club in the world? I don't see why the cowboys or MetLife stadium in New York or the new allegiant stadium in Vegas should be bigger and better than old Trafford.

6.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 19:34:21
Nothing up with Old Trafford.

7.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 20:06:25
Was the cowboys stadium not privately funded? i'm not sure they own it .
We have an 80000 seater stadium, i'm not sure I could justify spending the money it would cost to build a new stadium when we have OT .

8.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 21:47:39
A lot of the stadiums in the NFL are funded by the city at least in part. Teams have moved cities because the new city is prepared to stump up the cost of the new stadium.

I think it would be a hell of a job updating Old Trafford to a state of the art, it is probably easier just to build a new one. Not that I am advocating moving, just expressing my thoughts on how difficult it would be.

9.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 21:59:12
For the cowboys it was a combination of the city an nfl loan and the owner himself funding the stadium.

10.) 09 Jun 2020
09 Jun 2020 22:03:46
Oh and I meant to add CenturyLink Field where the Seahawks play would be my choice as my favourite. Set the record for loudest stadium, has a bunch of stuff there which channels the sound onto the field, by all accounts communication is impossible on the field at least when the Seahawks D is up. I wonder if there are any rules against replicating some of it in the EPL.

11.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 01:18:40
Its definitely a different stadium with the open stand and views in behind.

12.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 01:37:21
Given the railway line behind the south stand, I imagine the cost involved with expanding the south stand and the corners either side would be huge, but I feel like the stadium won’t ever look complete with that development. But Old Trafford has been United’s home for over a hundred, so whilst it would be a shame to move, it has served the club incredibly well, and a club that claims to be the biggest in the world needs to be playing at a stadium that can claim to be the best.

A question for anyone who might know more on the subject, would Old Trafford be demolished if the club were to build a new stadium, even if the club were to build the new stadium at another location? It would be a shame to demolish a ground that has been the iconic home of our club for so long, but equally, in the event it is replaced, it surely would not be financially viable to just keep it sitting there gathering dust?

13.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 02:45:18
@mnk397 if a new stadium is to be built, do you believe that the league and city will be open to provide the necessary funding like it's done in the NFL.

14.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 08:30:09
I don't think so if I'm honest imagine the backlash if the league gave utd a loan when there's clubs going out of business further down. Maybe someone can correct me but I don't think towns and cities ever get involved in England in the same way for things like this.

Billionaire owners and sponsorships is probably the only option. I would predict the cost around the stadium coupled with the debt and the Glazers high price is probably why we don't hear of more attempts to buy utd.

{Ed002's Note - Manchester City and West Ham?}

15.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 08:31:51
With C.V. I can't see the ground being updated properly anytime soon.

16.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 09:47:45
I don't understand the need to update/ change Old Trafford.

I can get there by tram or by walking. When I arrive I sit down and I can see the pitch. I can get a drink/ pie at half time and then I travel home by tram or foot.

What else do I or anyone else need from a stadium?

17.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 11:26:56
Ed were both them stadiums not built for other purposes which obviously suited the two cities. We are talking about a purpose built stadium that sits amongst if not not at the top of the best stadiums in the world. don't think manchester city council have a spare billion+.

Manc man it's about standards and expectations everything you said a league 2 team can provide as well. I do not see why people are willing to settle for less. We should be going out and getting the best dof, the best manager, the best players setting up the best scouting network building best stadium.
Instead fans are willing to compromise we gave ole the job because he got some good result and his goal in 99, we fail to put top footballing people in footballing decisions we keeping settling for mediocrity.

{Ed002's Note - Yes of course, but gifted to the clubs. Many of the NFL stadiums are shared.}

18.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 11:52:40
I don't follow nfl religiously but google tells me there are 32 teams where only 2 stadiums are shared!
Where there is a will there is a way.

{Ed002's Note - They are shared with other sports. For example the Santa Clara stadium is being rented by the 49Ers right now but they host numerous other sports there. The Seattle SeaHawks share the stadium with the Sounders. The Cardinals stadium has short track racing events. The Cowboys stadium hots basketball, soccer and numerous other events there. Soldier Field hosts the Bears and Chicago Fire. These are all multi-purpose stadiums - I am sorry Google faild you. Hopeless.}

19.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 12:02:03
mnk397, firstly Wimbledon roof cost so much because it opens and closes. I'd just like a roof that doesn't leak. That won't cost anywhere near as much as the Wimbledon roof.

Secondly, the reality is that there isn't going to be the same level of or even any help from the league or the City of Manchester.

Building a new stadium will either mean knocking down Old Trafford to rebuild on the site or selling Old Trafford to be knocked down and redeveloped. Either way the old stadium will be reduced to rubble, along with all the history.

Wembley cost 790m and Spurs new stadium cost around 850m, but both of them would be more expensive due to the premium paid for land and development in London. So we could build a new stadium for between 500-700m in Manchester, or most likely just outside of Manchester.

Yet the question would be why? It would be easier to build a bigger stadium but how much bigger do we need it? Old Trafford is already the biggest club ground in the country. It's not like we would make a significant jump in size to make the investment worthwhile.

I feel the best way forward and the only likely way is to improve what we have. With 200-300m of investment the club could expand Old Trafford, regenerate the stadium, and create something as good or better than the other clubs in England while maintaining the close connection to our history.

20.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 12:22:30
Ed having a purpose built stadium is not the same as sharing a stadium the cowboys don't share their stadium just because its purpose built. Because you make a point you think it's ok to call someone else hopeless glad you make this an inclusive place ed.

Shappy I'm not one for sentiment or history I just want the best so I am not bothered if it's the grass or mud that best and Charlton used to play on if knocking it down is the way forward then so be it. there's that attitude again you being happy with just fixing a leak!

{Ed002's Note - The cities make money out of the stadiums through having multiple events helf there. There are only 8 DC games held in the NFL each year plus maybe a preseason game or two. There are a huge number of other events held there. You don't seem to be grasping this.}

21.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 12:56:15
A closing roof isn’t really an issue for me, the only stadium with a closed roof that I like would be the millennium stadium. Plus with the quality of the pitches these days it’s very rare that some rain would ever make them unplayable.

22.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 13:07:33
What makes Man Utd a big club? Our history and our fanbase. Its certainly not our recent performances on the pitch.

Move away to some soulless green-belt plastic stadium and you break that history and disillusion many of the match-going fans. People want to play where Giggs, Scholes, Cantona, Cristiano, Best, Law, Beckham etc. played. Would worry we would lose a lot of our attraction.

23.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 13:36:07
Time moves on the fans will make a new stadium great not the players who used to play there.

I completely get that Ed's these stadiums are used for multiple purposes which is part of the reason the cities are willing to help fund the stadium which is why I doubt we would ever get any help.

{Ed002's Note - In some cases the cities own the stadiums.}

24.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 13:28:59
I’d understood United had been buying up land around OT with the obvious exception of the slither where Hotel Football stands. The railway behind South Stand has long been the blocker about expanding the stadium though I believe it can now be cantilevered over.

There’ll be a limitation on the height of the South Stand though as too high will restrict sunlight. So ideally the railway wouldn’t be there and you could build a larger stand at a lesser angle / smaller overall height.

So expansion of South Stand is possible but it may be the railway issue ultimately makes the cost v extra capacity not add up. Which goes back to United owning the majority of land around OT. If money were no object I think we demolish OT and build a brand new stadium elsewhere within the wider OT footprint.

That’s a minimum of £800m though if not significantly higher.

The only way we’d see a completely new ground is with new ownership.

Even if a new roof / refurb of some of the ground is an option at £200-250m I just don’t see that stacking up financially for the Glazers. And if it became a must I’m afraid that just halts player purchases for 2 years or so.

25.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 14:59:37
So72, it seems Haaland and Bellingham would rather play on the same hallowed turf that Paul Lambert played on. The idea that we would lose our soul if we left Old Trafford isn't a good argument for me.

Our name is always in the mix when fans talk about the "biggest club in the world". Look at what Madrid are doing with their new stadium. They're not sitting around teary eyed thinking of their countless trophies they've won their in the past. They're building an infrastructure that will help them win countless more trophies in the future.

The ground is a symbol of exactly what is wrong with the club. From far away it is hugely impressive. Incredible history. But on closer inspection it is in need of more than a lick of paint. The cracks are visibly showing and like the club itself, it needs A rebuild. A stadium that was once a fortress, state of art and mirrored the players that played on it as being the best! Now like the team that plays week in week out, it's being left behind by our rivals.

Though we could talk for days about our favourite games, goals, memories. The football world is moving on. Huge clubs have moved stadium and made it their home.

Old Trafford right now isn't even fit to host European finals. Let that sink in. Ed002 menti0oned a couple of years ago that a visit to Carrington, the complex was decked out in cheap furnishings from Ikea. Our owners have no interest in putting money into parts of the club that won't improve the value. Unfortunately I see Old Trafford staying the way it is until new owners come in.

26.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 18:58:37
Sorry Mumbles, but Dortmund's stadium means the world to their fans and their club's identity so not really sure that's a good example.

Plus - Dortmund have a recent track record of improving young players and being a stepping stone. What do we have a recent track record of?

27.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 20:00:17
Not fit to host finals? What a load of absolute nonsense, it is iconic, like, Celtic Park, Villa Park, Anfield, these type of historical grounds.

28.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 20:17:37
So people are never happy.

29.) 10 Jun 2020
10 Jun 2020 20:42:59
I started going to Old Trafford about 1971 and seen it develop over the years, so actually have some perspective. It isn’t the grainy, tough place it was, yet the Stretford End had character. The previous continuous development seemed to stop after the Glazers arrived.

Crowded bars, rip off bar prices, lack of imagination on how to get people in early, entertainment hardly changed, the big screens mean we are one of only two clubs who can’t show VAR. have a walk around the ground it is becoming dated. Do the ground tour it gives more perspective as well. Inside the rain has leaked through that roof many times for years, not just in those pictures about a year ago. The fact is the ground hasn’t moved forward for 15 years since the quadrant was completed with the Plc money.
It needs real investment, it needs owners who want it to be the jewel in their crown. It doesn’t need a new stadium somewhere else, there is plenty of land, plenty of opportunity, the history is there. All our rivals have developed their stadiums or built new ones, we have the debt without the stadium to go with it.