Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly looking to build a new stadium for Manchester United but it’s going to take a lot more money than the £239m he is putting into the club’s infrastructure.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to build a new stadium for Manchester United, after the club has spent 114 years at Old Trafford, which holds just over 74,000 spectators.
Ratcliffe apparently wants to create a ‘Wembley of the North’ and he’s against the idea of relocating the club but feels supporters will be behind a stadium move if they stay within the same land.
Or maybe he should ask some of the traditionalists, who wish to remain at Old Trafford?
We can all appreciate that he’s trying to create a world-leading, iconic venue to rival Wembley and it’s 90,000 capacity – but what about the history we would be leaving behind at Old Trafford?
I’ve seen some reporters joke about Ratcliffe possibly seeking public funding to achieve the dream, though nothing was said when Man City and West Ham were handed their stadiums.
The Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler has spoken to four Manchester United legends for their views on United moving away from Old Trafford by building a new stadium.
Alex Stepney, who made 539 appearances for the club, said: “I do hospitality and every game they come from China, Australia, America and Argentina. There’s a tremendous history. I think it would be tragic if they moved the stadium.
“You’ve got the statues of Sir Matt Busby and Jimmy Murphy; the Trinity statue and the Munich memorial as well. You would lose so much of the history, not just for the supporters here but the rest of the world.
“My preference would be to stay where we are. To rebuild the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand and improve the other parts of the ground with a roof all the way around. Build it up. Surely there are architects who can design that.
“If we could stay there and redevelop it, we could still get 90,000-100,000 spectators.”
Former centre-back Gary Pallister was more warm to the idea, saying: “I hate to say it because I never thought I’d see the day when I would say, ‘Leave Old Trafford’, but the idea of putting a purpose-built, state-of-the-art stadium next door is appealing.
“As fantastic a stadium as it is — and it’s not as bad as some people have made out — to make it the Wembley of the North might be the way forward.
“It could cost £2billion to build, which is mind-blowing. But as a player and supporter, to go into a brand-new stadium like Tottenham have got, maybe that’s the step we have to take if we want to keep our place at the top table and be spoken about as one of the elite of world football.
“The traditionalists want to stay and I get that. It’s understandable that people talk about the history, but we moved away from the Cliff which was synonymous with the Busby Babes and Law, Best and Charlton.
“You can’t stay in one place for ever. You have to move into the present day at some stage, it’s just a matter of which way you do it.
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to be seen to be getting things back on track, and building a 90,000-seat stadium would be a huge statement.”
Lou Macari is another who is against the idea: “Just recently I was asked to do a stadium tour and I jumped at the opportunity. I got the shock of my life when I saw what a great stadium it is. Everywhere I went, I had goosebumps. Old Trafford isn’t falling down.
“Overall, the stadium is brilliant. I’m struggling to find where you could improve things greatly. I wouldn’t like to lose that feeling of being a real football club with history. I scored on my debut at the Stretford End, and I wouldn’t like that to be moved. It’s OK if you want to upgrade it a little bit. But taking away the history of the football club and ending up with a new stadium, I wouldn’t be happy with that and neither would a lot of supporters.
“Is there a modern stadium anywhere in the country that we can all say is worth going to? The new Wembley? Come on, there’s nothing about it. I went to Wembley four times as a player in the Seventies and Eighties, and when I go there now it doesn’t do anything for me.”
Sammy McIlroy, who scored 71 goals for United, hates the idea of leaving Old Trafford: “I would hate it if we have to move. You are starting in a new stadium to build history again, whereas Old Trafford has been there for years and years.
“People might say I’m old school but I’ve got fantastic memories of Old Trafford going back to my days with Best, Law and Charlton, and I would love to see them redevelop it from the inside and make it look like Wembley. What’s there now, make it better.
“Can we expand to get more people through the door? The capacity is 75,000. Can we make it a little bit bigger? I’m sure you could easily get 85,000 for Manchester United’s home games.
“If we can redevelop the old railway (south) stand which has always been a bit of a burden, I would go for that.”
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