New Man Utd owner has big plans: will Old Trafford be redundant soon?

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The La Tuilière Stadium in Lausanne may soon no longer be the most modern stadium of the Ineos Group. The stadium in Vaudois could be replaced by Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.

Look back to the past. On December 24, 2023, and after a year of trading, the Glazer family sold 25 percent of the shares in Manchester United to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. The 71-year-old is the founder of the petrochemical company Ineos and already owns three football clubs: OGC Nice (France), Racing Club Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Lausanne.

Now anchored in Manchester, Ratcliffe is thinking outside the box. The Telegraph reports that the English entrepreneur has a completely new project for Old Trafford. According to British media, Ratcliffe believes United need a state-of-the-art stadium that would produce ‘wow’ effects.

“And we believe there are good reasons for the country to have a high-profile headquarters in the North – a Wembley of the North,” the same source told the paper. Wembley is the temple of English football. A 90,000 seat venue where all the major matches are played (FA Cup finals, England national team matches).

Renovation or new construction?

To achieve this, the question is whether the current stadium, built in 1910, should be renovated or whether a new building should be built. Both views exist, but one is more expensive than the other. While a renovation and expansion would cost around €880 million, a new Old Trafford could cost €2 billion.

And there’s another problem with the new building: the fans’ attachment to the place. There are no worries at this point because if a new stadium were to be built, it would be built right next to the existing “Theatre of Dreams”.

However, what speaks in favor of a new building: a new arena would give the club the opportunity to receive support from the state.

Source : Blick