Manchester United: What will become of Old Trafford in case ‘Wembley of the North’ is built?

Add as a preferred source on Google

As per reports from The Telegraph, Manchester United could either be in for redevelopment of Old Trafford or the building of a new stadium, the 'Wembley of the North’. Man United own 100 acres of land around their current iconic stadium.

43 acres of that land can be redeveloped and 25 acres of it is still unused. Reportedly, Sir Jim Ratcliffe doesn't want to relocate, but he thinks in case of a new state-of-the-art stadium, fans could rally behind that.

What will become of current Old Trafford?

In case a new stadium is built beside the current standing stadium, then the Old Trafford could be used for the academy and women's stadium. If a new state-of-the-art stadium is built, then several new attractions will be built around it.

For example, restaurants, a multi-screen cinema, a club museum, and more could be built around the new stadium. The club museum could be built at the current Old Trafford. However, they could still revamp the Old Trafford rather than build a new stadium.

The revamping plan

The last time any major redevelopment work went on at Old Trafford was back in 2006. The plans were approved before the Glazers took over. Since they took over, they haven't put any large amount of money into renovating the stadium.

As Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired 25% shares of the club, he wants to work on the stadium. Ratcliffe wants to revamp the stadium rather than moving their home which could take a few hundred million pounds. However, they will face problems redeveloping Old Trafford.

The main hindrance will be the train track adjacent to the stadium. On the other hand, the development of the new stadium could take over £2 billion. In case it is built, the capacity will at least be the same or more than Wembley Stadium.

The 'Wembley of the North’ can take around 6-8 years to be built. In the meantime, Man United will have to find a new place to play. They have the option in Etihad Stadium and Anfield Stadium which seems very unlikely. They can also choose to play in Wembley Stadium.