New Stadium or Revamp Old Trafford

Would you rather a new stadium or rebuild Old Trafford?

  • New stadium

    Votes: 770 52.1%
  • Rebuild Old Trafford

    Votes: 709 47.9%

  • Total voters
    1,479
Something like this would you to build the new stadium while gradually knocking down the old stadium and you could retain the South Stand and pitch for the history and Reserve/Womens team. Bonus points for having the canal right alongside the back of the stand. Somewhat similar to how Fulham's new stand runs along the Thames.



The second smaller stadium is that for 5 a sides?

Where is that picture from?
 
I thought the Munich tunnel was behind the south stand ( the entrance to the ground from that side?!) The old tunnel is certainly central to the pitch, having done the tour I’ve walked up it! you can colour me confused!
1200px-Munich_Tunnel_2.jpg

It's a bit confusing alright. I always thought that was the Munich tunnel also. Maybe the Wikipedia article is poorly worded.
 
Even a brand new stadium built tomorrow would probably need renovation work after 25-30 years to maintain and modernize it.

Routine maintenance of course, but a 250m (adjusted for inflation over 25 years so let’s call it 750m) 25 years from now, very unlikely. Unless it’s a crappy build. Im
Assuming a rebuild will not be crappy.
 
If we are looking at a new stadium I would personally like the interior of the stadium to look very similar to what we have now. Copy the North stand, East Stand, Stratford End and make the South stand just like the North stand for greater capacity. Also maybe raise the East Stand and stretford end higher to match the height of the north stand and new south stand and fill in the corners between all 4 stands. Keep the dugout the same. I am no engineer so no clue if this is feasible. Keeps Old Trafford feeling familiar but increase’s capacity significantly.

Then the concourse and exterior can be done up and modernised. The exterior keeping its red brick facade elements. I don’t want a glass bowl that a lot of modern grounds feel like. If we want to use the existing Old Trafford site afterwards maybe we keep the pitch location the exact same so we don’t lose that history but build a smaller stadium around it where the youth teams can play like City have done. Name it after Sir Matt or Jimmy Murphy, name a stand after Eric Harrison etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Penna
The old players tunnel in the South Stand I believe is the Munich tunnel, it was renamed in 2008.
Yeah the tunnel in the article quoted is the old players tunnel. The article confuses the players tunnel with the South Stand (now Munich) tunnel, they are separate things. Players tunnel was there, South Stand tunnel wasn't.
 
Routine maintenance of course, but a 250m (adjusted for inflation over 25 years so let’s call it 750m) 25 years from now, very unlikely. Unless it’s a crappy build. Im
Assuming a rebuild will not be crappy.

Well I don't imagine major renovations would be necessary but who knows what the standard will be for stadiums in 25 years though.

Would the Stade de France as it was built in 98 when it was state of the art hold up to modern stadia like Spurs or the new Bernebeu?

The Bernebeu I believe was built in the 60's, had major renovations in the early 90's and now 30 years later again. And that's pretty normal for most large stadiums.
 
Yeah the tunnel in the article quoted is the old players tunnel. The article confuses the players tunnel with the South Stand (now Munich) tunnel, they are separate things. Players tunnel was there, South Stand tunnel wasn't.

Fair enough, either way the old tunnel that leads to the pitch is original from 1910 then.
 
Well I don't imagine major renovations would be necessary but who knows what the standard will be for stadiums in 25 years though.

Would the Stade de France as it was built in 98 when it was state of the art hold up to modern stadia like Spurs or the new Bernebeu?

The Bernebeu I believe was built in the 60's, had major renovations in the early 90's and now 30 years later again. And that's pretty normal for most large stadiums.

I suppose it all depends on whether the rebuild say in 2027 would be become antiquated and in need of a major renovation by 2052. Hard to say of course, but that line of thought argues for a rebuild over a renovation anyway. We're just making up numbers but if we assume that a major renovation will cost 500m and a rebuild would be closer to 2b the first question we have to ask is what we're really getting with a 500m renovation versus a 2b rebuild. Surely the rebuild would be an extensive redevelopment of the property around OT with all the of the attendant financial benefits of a complex whereas the 500m renovation would entail mostly cosmetic updates to OT itself such as fixing leaky roofs.

There's no wrong answer on this.
 
Well I don't imagine major renovations would be necessary but who knows what the standard will be for stadiums in 25 years though.

Would the Stade de France as it was built in 98 when it was state of the art hold up to modern stadia like Spurs or the new Bernebeu?

The Bernebeu I believe was built in the 60's, had major renovations in the early 90's and now 30 years later again. And that's pretty normal for most large stadiums.

Bernabeu was redone for the 1982 World Cup with the roof, then expanded upon later in the early 90's to what it looked like until the recent rebuild.

The one stand that doesn't look like the others was redone around the time Beckham moved there and then has been added to now with a taller top tier.
 


Some good suggestions from Paddock. Love the idea of making the players walk through the clubs history.
 
Thats where the Munich memorial plaque and eternal flame are sited.
Not to be confused with the original players tunnel, which I don't think is referred to as the "Munich Tunnel"
 
If we are looking at a new stadium I would personally like the interior of the stadium to look very similar to what we have now. Copy the North stand, East Stand, Stratford End and make the South stand just like the North stand for greater capacity. Also maybe raise the East Stand and stretford end higher to match the height of the north stand and new south stand and fill in the corners between all 4 stands. Keep the dugout the same. I am no engineer so no clue if this is feasible. Keeps Old Trafford feeling familiar but increase’s capacity significantly.

Then the concourse and exterior can be done up and modernised. The exterior keeping its red brick facade elements. I don’t want a glass bowl that a lot of modern grounds feel like. If we want to use the existing Old Trafford site afterwards maybe we keep the pitch location the exact same so we don’t lose that history but build a smaller stadium around it where the youth teams can play like City have done. Name it after Sir Matt or Jimmy Murphy, name a stand after Eric Harrison etc.

When Archibald Leitch re-designed Old Trafford, with the cantilevered roof. It was ground breaking, futuristic and Unique.

I would be happy for the new Stadium to be unique and not an identikit of every other stadium built in the last 20 years. Something that makes you gasp when you see it. More like the allianz arena than the Emirates or Wembley.
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong but is it true ground developments don't factor into FFP?

If so the club should be investing into making our ground as big as possible, because once built our match day revenue increase would work positively for us.

A huge statement of intent but 100k?Make the fist lower sections safe standing around the whole ground too, great for atmosphere.
 
I wonder if there is any way to gut old Trafford and just leave the exterior standing, but otherwise build a completely new stadium in the shell of the old one?
Surely we could move the pitch over a bit to accommodate a bigger South stand, and renovation the roof to a more modern design?
I refuse to believe our options are limited to brand new soulless bowl, or keep OT and compromise our vision/facilities. There has to be a way to a middle ground so we can have our cake.
 
I wonder if there is any way to gut old Trafford and just leave the exterior standing, but otherwise build a completely new stadium in the shell of the old one?
Surely we could move the pitch over a bit to accommodate a bigger South stand, and renovation the roof to a more modern design?
I refuse to believe our options are limited to brand new soulless bowl, or keep OT and compromise our vision/facilities. There has to be a way to a middle ground so we can have our cake.
When it was downgraded by UEFA a whole host of problems were highlighted, it wasn't just minor problems.
Stairways too steep
Concourses too narrow
Not enough faciltities (bars etc)
Leaking roof
Poor views ( mainly the north stand.

Estimates are around £800m for renovation, £1.5bn for a rebuild
 
When it was downgraded by UEFA a whole host of problems were highlighted, it wasn't just minor problems.
Stairways too steep
Concourses too narrow
Not enough faciltities (bars etc)
Leaking roof
Poor views ( mainly the north stand.

Estimates are around £800m for renovation, £1.5bn for a rebuild
Downgraded by UEFA says it all. Knock it down, build new.
 
I wonder if there is any way to gut old Trafford and just leave the exterior standing, but otherwise build a completely new stadium in the shell of the old one?
Surely we could move the pitch over a bit to accommodate a bigger South stand, and renovation the roof to a more modern design?
I refuse to believe our options are limited to brand new soulless bowl, or keep OT and compromise our vision/facilities. There has to be a way to a middle ground so we can have our cake.
Why can't we build a new stadium and incorporate the new with the history of our old stadium? The bricked dugouts have to stay for example and tributes to all our great players and trophies won.
 
I'm all for building a new stadium, but keep the aesthetics of it (the beams on the roof primarily) it's old traffords identity, it cant be discarded. I really don't want a bowl shaped toilet seat design for a roof. Keep the same stadium layout but with a modern twist and widen the stadium up a bit. Give it some leg room, it's too cramped.

In our new fancy stadium, i would like to see dual 10,000+ sqft video screens on the west and east stands, something similar to the screen of the Gillette Stadium. Raise the roof up for better viewing angles. Pretty much a beefier version of the current OT.
 
Last edited:
Isn't it leased from a company owned by the Glazers and some United folk?

Not sure who ultimately owns the land but it seems like United don't own it. So it might not be straightforward for the club to build on that land.
 
I suppose it all depends on whether the rebuild say in 2027 would be become antiquated and in need of a major renovation by 2052. Hard to say of course, but that line of thought argues for a rebuild over a renovation anyway. We're just making up numbers but if we assume that a major renovation will cost 500m and a rebuild would be closer to 2b the first question we have to ask is what we're really getting with a 500m renovation versus a 2b rebuild. Surely the rebuild would be an extensive redevelopment of the property around OT with all the of the attendant financial benefits of a complex whereas the 500m renovation would entail mostly cosmetic updates to OT itself such as fixing leaky roofs.

There's no wrong answer on this.

Perhaps mate but my only point was you don't build a new stadium and that's the stadium infrastructure projects put to bed for 50+ years.
 
Not sure who ultimately owns the land but it seems like United don't own it. So it might not be straightforward for the club to build on that land.
The last time some links about the land were posted, I checked out the company it's leased from. It came up as its office bearers being the Glazers and Arnold, with Woodward having been replaced, and the address as OT. I could have misread things of course.
 
I wonder if there is any way to gut old Trafford and just leave the exterior standing, but otherwise build a completely new stadium in the shell of the old one?
Surely we could move the pitch over a bit to accommodate a bigger South stand, and renovation the roof to a more modern design?
I refuse to believe our options are limited to brand new soulless bowl, or keep OT and compromise our vision/facilities. There has to be a way to a middle ground so we can have our cake.

Why on earth would you bother with that? It would be completely pointless and a waste of time and money. You wouldn't get more capacity, in fact you'd get less with new regulations. The same south stand problems would still exist, you can't just move the pitch over and expand into the stadium....

We should be building a new stadium whilst ensuring it meets a specific criteria. It should still resemble the look of Old Trafford but with modern and future thinking ideas. The brick dug outs for example should carry over etc etc. It should look like a sibling of Old Trafford. We should 100% not be doing an Arsenal, Spurs or West Ham where the original stadium is lost, it must have a connection.
 
I wonder if there is any way to gut old Trafford and just leave the exterior standing, but otherwise build a completely new stadium in the shell of the old one?
Surely we could move the pitch over a bit to accommodate a bigger South stand, and renovation the roof to a more modern design?
I refuse to believe our options are limited to brand new soulless bowl, or keep OT and compromise our vision/facilities. There has to be a way to a middle ground so we can have our cake.

If you left the exterior standing then you wouldn't be able to move the pitch. And if you did that then it wouldn't be Old Trafford really would it? It'd be an old facade on a compromised new stadium.

Face reality.
 
When it was downgraded by UEFA a whole host of problems were highlighted, it wasn't just minor problems.
Stairways too steep
Concourses too narrow
Not enough faciltities (bars etc)
Leaking roof
Poor views ( mainly the north stand.

Estimates are around £800m for renovation, £1.5bn for a rebuild
Give it a blue card
 
The old players tunnel in the South Stand I believe is the Munich tunnel, it was renamed in 2008.
Nah, as others have pointed out it's either a badly written article or the author is just completely incorrect. The old central players tunnel has never had an official name, and also it has had the floor changed several times since the 1910s and has white-painted breeze blocks for walls, so it's hardly an original architectural feature in any case.
 
When Archibald Leitch re-designed Old Trafford, with the cantilevered roof. It was ground breaking, futuristic and Unique.

I would be happy for the new Stadium to be unique and not an identikit of every other stadium built in the last 20 years. Something that makes you gasp when you see it. More like the allianz arena than the Emirates or Wembley.
Archibald Leitch died 20 years before any English football ground installed a cantilever roof. It was Scunthorpe United who did that in 1958. Old Trafford first had one in the mid 60s.

The stadium Leitch built for us was big and expensive, but pretty primitive. I doubt anyone would have called it futuristic, even in 1910. It only had one stand with a roof and seating. The rest was basically earthwork.

Old+Trafford+pada+tahun+1922.jpg
 
If went down the new stadium route a closing roof would be ideal, reckon it would help with the atmosphere in there as well.
 
I wonder if there is any way to gut old Trafford and just leave the exterior standing, but otherwise build a completely new stadium in the shell of the old one?
Surely we could move the pitch over a bit to accommodate a bigger South stand, and renovation the roof to a more modern design?
I refuse to believe our options are limited to brand new soulless bowl, or keep OT and compromise our vision/facilities. There has to be a way to a middle ground so we can have our cake.
Like we've mentioned before - yes the railway is an issue to the south, but you couldn't move the stadium north by much more than a few meters before the the north stand falls into the canal. And doing that wouldn't solve the leg room issues either. Plus it would cost more to do that than to start fresh.
 
I’m 5ft 1” and obviously have no problem with legroom anywhere except Old Trafford. As much as I love Old Trafford I can’t see anything but a new stadium being required to get the ground up to modern standards.
 
Nah, as others have pointed out it's either a badly written article or the author is just completely incorrect. The old central players tunnel has never had an official name, and also it has had the floor changed several times since the 1910s and has white-painted breeze blocks for walls, so it's hardly an original architectural feature in any case.

Yeah, I looked into it further and seems to be the case.

Weren't the breeze blocks added at some point to line the original walls behind?
 


Some good suggestions from Paddock. Love the idea of making the players walk through the clubs history.


Yep thought Paddock was good on this. For anyone not able to watch, tl;dr was :

- new stadium
- 100k seats, a statement figure
- overwhelming players tunnel (history, trophies)
- destination for before and after games
- historical elements respectfully transposed
- OT downsized then updated to serve as women’s & academy ground (this one struck me as unlikely but not impossible)
 
I’m 5ft 1” and obviously have no problem with legroom anywhere except Old Trafford. As much as I love Old Trafford I can’t see anything but a new stadium being required to get the ground up to modern standards.

I think the same. Keep the old stadium for youths and ladies football. This will promote ladies football like nothing else.

The aim should be to build the best football stadium in Europe. Best atmosphere, best fan experience, highest attendance.