Next to Old Trafford

2 billion euros! Manchester United plans mega stadium

Manchester United still play at Old Trafford.

(Bild: GEPA)

Manchester United is planning to build a new 100,000-seater stadium. The largest soccer stadium in Great Britain is to cost two billion pounds (2.39 billion euros) and is to be built next to the venerable Old Trafford, as England's record champions announced on Tuesday. The major project is to be realized over the next five years.

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has been in office since February last year, had already made it clear that he was only too keen to push ahead with the construction of a modern arena. The Ineos boss spoke of a "Wembley of the North". The club also sounded out the extent to which Old Trafford - United's home since 1910 - could be expanded. The decision has now been made to build a new stadium.

"Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey towards realizing the world's best soccer stadium," Ratcliffe said on Tuesday. "Our current stadium has given us great service over the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport."

Pylons 200 meters high
The plans were officially presented on Tuesday by London-based architects Foster + Partners. The striking design features three 200-meter-high masts, which will support an umbrella architecture and tower over the tallest building in Manchester. The project is part of a large-scale redevelopment of the area. More than 90,000 jobs are to be created and 17,000 apartments built.

Old Trafford will soon be a thing of the past - at least as a soccer venue.

(Bild: Peter Byrne)

Badly damaged in the Second World War, Old Trafford currently has a capacity of 74,140 seats, but is in need of renovation. It is not yet clear how the arena will be used after the move.

Manchester United is currently only in 14th place in the Premier League. The major club is around one billion pounds (1.19 billion euros) in debt and recently cut hundreds of jobs. Otherwise, only Barcelona's Camp Nou, which is currently being renovated, will have seats for over 100,000 spectators in Europe.