Manchester United is revamping its stadium plans with a focus on 'sanity' over 'vanity' as the club grapples with a £1.3bn debt. The project aims to create 48,000 jobs and 15,000 new homes, with a 100,000-capacity stadium.
Manchester United's New Stadium Development chief executive, Collette Roche, confirmed the intention at the unveiling of a draft masterplan for the wider Old Trafford area. Roche insisted the plans were not set in stone and that the club would be speaking to designers Foster and Partners and also consulting with fans about the exact designs over the next few months in the hope there would be “something to share” with supporters either at the end of 2026 or early 2027.
Roche also said that while no decisions had been made over funding for a project initially estimated to cost £2bn with the potential to rise further, particular attention is being paid to maximising revenue. United are more than £1.3bn in debt because of a combination of legacy costs incurred by the Glazer takeover in 2005, a revolving credit limit and outstanding transfer payments.
That is why a naming rights deal – such as those agreed by Arsenal with Emirates and Manchester City with Etihad for their new stadiums – is probable. “We’ve been really clear from the onset, this needs to be a sanity project, not a vanity project,” said Roche. “I don’t know what the stadium will be called but we’ve been really vocal that we are going to potentially look at naming rights to the stadium.
“It’s an important revenue stream and something we’ve discussed with our fan advisory board. “Everybody realises affordable, accessible ticket prices are really important. In order to do that, we need to generate revenue streams in other places. “Everyone said building a new stadium is going to be really expensive.”
Roche played down hints made by United chief executive officer Omar Berrada in the United States last month that the project may not proceed, saying “we’ve gone so far”. She is adamant no public money will be used for stadium construction.
Trafford Council leader Tom Ross stated that no matter who wins the Greater Manchester mayoral election on 30 July, the project would proceed as planned: “The new mayor will be able to sit in the meetings, but not be part of the development corporation itself.” He said talks would continue with Freightliner over the land United had hoped to use for their new stadium before switching as talks around costs stalled.