New Manchester United stadium gets FA backing

Manchester United’s plans for a new stadium are well know to most Premier League fans now, with the ambitious plans being hard to miss in the media.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning to replace Old Trafford with a new 100,000 seater stadium currently being affectionately called “Wembley of the North”.

The development has unfortunately come up against some key stumbling blocks however, with issues over land purchases and the design team being occupied elsewhere.

Firstly, United are struggling to buy the land behind the Stretford End that’s currently owned by Freightliner who are holding out for a hefty fee.

The freight yard in question is vital land for the new stadium to be built on, so ultimately is delaying the development until the land is in the hands of United.

Secondly, is the fact that due to this initial delay or not, Forster + Partners, the architects and design firm who drew up the initial plans for the stadium, are now focused on the redesign and development of San Siro in Milan.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as The Red Devils have had some major boosts of yet, with one coming at the hands of the Football Association.

The Guardian has reported that the FA are planning to include United’s new £2 billion stadium in the list of stadiums set to host matches at the 2035 Women’s World Cup.

Whilst the plans are set to be made public this week, this is a major step towards realising Ratcliffe’s hopes of having the new ground host the final of the tournament instead of Wembley.

It’s understood that United’s main argument is that with the “New Old Trafford” being set to complete in 2030, it will be a much more modern stadium to accommodate fans from around the world.

This news of the FA’s support, comes fresh on the back of the announcement that the Old Trafford Regeneration Project, the project overseeing the development of the new stadium, is being included in the Greater Manchester Growth Plan.

The plan sets out Greater Manchester’s strategic plan for developing the city over the next 10 years, which is a major endorsement for the project to have.