Manchester United have announced their plans to build a brand new state-of-the-art stadium capacity that will house 100,000 supporters.
Ranked at No.5 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best football stadiums in Britain, Old Trafford has often been criticized over the past ten years, given that the Glazer family has failed to redevelop or reinvest funds to bring the stadium into the 21st century. New minority owners INEOS have quickly addressed the need for a new home, and plans to move away from the Theatre of Dreams now seem to be escalating.
So, what does this mean, and what did we spot in the Red Devils’ recent unveiling video? FourFourTwo explores the talking points as Manchester United released their exciting plans earlier today.
Ex-Manchester United icon chosen for the voiceover – but why?
It seems strange that a certain Gary Neville was chosen as the voice over artist on Manchester United’s announcement video, especially given his high-profile rants about the club in recent years.
Neville is often heard and seen on Sky Sports lambasting the club for their failings since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, so to hear him promoting the regeneration plans was odd to us.
New stadium will be visible for up to 37.4km
According to figures released by Foster + Partners, the new stadium will be visible for up to 37.4km – which is astonishing to say the very least.
That means you will be able to see the stunning project from parts of Cheshire and even from the outskirts of Liverpool in optimum sky conditions, which may not please some rival supporters…
Marcus Rashford snubbed in place of Chido Obi
Gone are the days when Marcus Rashford stood up for everything good about Manchester United’s academy, with the Aston Villa loanee snubbed from the video when the club’s mantra of ‘Youth, Courage, Success’ was mentioned.
Instead, it was former Arsenal man Chido Obi who was chosen, with women’s team star Grace Clinton also selected as their standout story. It’s been a sad demise for Rashford who will probably leave the club this summer after falling out with Ruben Amorim.
Preserving Old Trafford’s ‘essence’
Much of the conversation had been whether Manchester United chose to build on top of Old Trafford or move further down their site. A lot of work is expected to be done in the next 10-15 years, and it appears, for now, that their existing stadium will remain.
Some chatter had been that they will emulate what crosstown rivals Manchester City have done and may opt to use Old Trafford as a smaller home for their women’s and academy sides.
“By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience, only footsteps from our historic home,” said minority owner Jim Ratcliffe.
Manchester United are next in Premier League action on Sunday evening as they take on strugglers Leicester City at the King Power.
