Manchester United make new stadium case as project ticks towards £3bn

A new Manchester United stadium could cost as much as £3billion to build, with the project increasingly being spun as a wider regeneration project for the city region.
The Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force has completed its initial feasibility work into options for a new or redeveloped stadium at Old Trafford, with the project framed as a catalyst for social and economic renewal of the surrounding area, in order to curry favour with government and local stakeholders.
An Options Report has been submitted by the Task Force to executive bodies at Manchester United, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Trafford Borough Council, setting out what it describes as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the historic industrial engine room of Greater Manchester into a vibrant new driver of growth and innovation in sports, entertainment, business, and education.”
As part of the consultation fans favoured a brand new 100,000 capacity stadium. But theBusinessDesk.com understands that Old Trafford insiders are alarmed at the rising costs of the project.
But the initial findings included in the options report claim the project could deliver an extra £7.3bn gross value added to the UK economy and more than 90,000 employment opportunities, boosting major shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s hope that government money could be available for the project.
With a price tag of anything over £2bn it would be one of the most expensive stadiums ever built. The inspiration is the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home to the National Football League’s (NFL) Los Angeles Rams, which has regenerated the tough inner city area of Inglewood.
Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium cost around £390 million, while Tottenham’s new stadium cost approximately £1 billion, but which is considered the best new build stadium in the country.
The Task Force determined that a redeveloped Old Trafford could increase the capacity of the existing stadium to 87,000, whereas a new-build stadium would allow capacity to reach 100,000.
In a statement issued on Friday (17 January 2025) the task force said both options remain under consideration, but a survey of more than 50,000 United fans appeared to favour a new stadium at the heart of a regenerated stadium district.
Following publication of the Options Report, Trafford Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will discuss the benefits of establishing a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to help drive forward the project. An MDC is a statutory body which can drive the delivery of large-scale development, including mixed-use regeneration, transformational urban extensions, and new settlements. It can take on powers to acquire and develop land and bring forward new infrastructure – laying the groundwork for an ambitious regeneration project aligned with Greater Manchester’s wider growth mission.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “These proposals offer the biggest opportunity for urban regeneration this country has seen since London 2012 and are an important part of our 10-year plan to turbocharge growth not only around Old Trafford but across Greater Manchester.
“Our city-region is in a unique position. We are driving growth faster than the UK average, attracting more investment through innovative partnerships, and we have developed an innovative new mechanism to deliver the homes, jobs, and infrastructure that we need to lock in those benefits for years to come.
“Transforming the area around Old Trafford won’t just benefit Greater Manchester. By beginning to move freight away from the site we can bring new life to underused industrial land, open up capacity on our rail network, and unlock massive potential across the whole of the North. We are ready to move forward and will be working closely with government, our councils and communities, and the club to make sure we get this right.”