LONDON (AFP) – Manchester United have appointed globally renowned architects Foster and Partners to develop a masterplan for the area around Old Trafford as part of an ambitious regeneration project.
The Premier League club are looking at two options – either redeveloping the nation’s largest club stadium or building a new one on adjacent club-owned land.
United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe favours a new ground and the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force is understood to have centred its discussions on building a new 100,000-capacity stadium rather than redeveloping the existing ground.
The club have now appointed London-based Foster and Partners to develop a “masterplan”.
The architectural practice is already overseeing a GBP50 million modernisation of United’s Carrington Training Complex. Norman Foster, a star name in global architecture, has designed some of the world’s most iconic buildings, including the HSBC Building in Hong Kong, London’s “Gherkin” skyscraper and the reconstructed Reichstag in Berlin.
Firm founder and executive chairman Foster said, “As a proud Mancunian, I am passionate about the chance to rebuild on Manchester’s great industrial heritage, creating a vibrant new mixed-use community, served by highly sustainable and improved transport links, providing homes and jobs for the local community, all catalysed by a world-class stadium for the world’s most famous football team – Manchester United.”
A new stadium is expected to cost about GBP2 billion, with the task force expected to deliver its final recommendations by the end of the year.
Fans are being asked for their views on the redevelopment, with former United captain Gary Neville, part of the task force, urging supporters to take part.
