Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has expressed his vision for Manchester United’s home to become a beacon of excellence in northern England, similar to Wembley for London. The most feasible approach to achieving this is through a new build next to the current stadium.
There was an option to preserve the original Old Trafford, built in 1910, by reducing its capacity to about 30,000 for the women’s and academy teams. However, a recent report from the Daily Mail indicates that the club believes this plan may not be viable, as it would effectively be a separate project and could cost “hundreds of millions” to modify.
As a result, Old Trafford might be completely demolished once a new £2 billion stadium is ready. Many fans find the idea of losing Old Trafford difficult, which is why the scaled-down version initially appealed to them. To address these concerns, United plans to establish a heritage focus group to ensure the preservation of key historical elements, including the Munich clock, memorials, and statues of figures like Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby.