Old Trafford Stadium Upgrade Is Crucial To Manchester United’s New Owners

A contractor who built one of Old Trafford’s many improvements in the 1990s one told me how, during the project’s construction, legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would visit almost every day.

As well as overseeing the country’s most successful teams on the field, Sir Alex believed he needed to know as much about the improvements to the stadium as possible.

He listened with interest to updates about the project and was on first-name terms with many of the workers.

It perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise the man, whose name now adorns one of the stands, took such a keen interest as during his reign Old Trafford was established as the country’s top soccer venue.

Ferguson arrived at Manchester United in the mid-1980s, when supporters were caged in ugly concrete terraces and pillars blocked views of the pitch. Lucrative executive suites were limited in number.

Things got worse before they got better. The Taylor Report, which was commissioned by the UK government following the Hillsborough stadium disaster, made it a requirement for all clubs in the top two divisions to have all-seater stadiums.

Almost overnight Old Trafford’s capacity dropped from around 60,000 to an all-time low of 44,000.

But it was from that base the modern stadium was built.

The first area of the stadium to receive a face-lift was the iconic Stratford End, demolished and rebuilt in time for the club’s inaugural 1992/93 Premier League crown.

That proved to be the first championship in what was a decade of domination. Proceeds earned from on-field glories were used to embark on industry-leading improvements to Old Trafford.

Old Trafford Improvements

It began with the transformation of what is now the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand in 1995. Featuring three tiers, it had a capacity of 26,000, which was more than many of the club’s opponents’ whole stadiums held in those days.

Having three tiers enabled the club to insert a greater number of executive boxes and hospitality suites. Unlike the single-tiered designs of the past, this set-up naturally lent itself to the creation of exclusive levels with excellent views and more luxurious surroundings.

Improvements continued and by the end of the decade Old Trafford was the best stadium in the country outright, with the national stadium Wembley undergoing a chaotic redevelopment, in terms of capacity and facilities United was clear.

An indication of how far ahead the club was the fact its main challenger at that time, Arsenal, eventually decided the only way for the club to gain parity with the Red Devils was to build a new home from scratch.

Creating a goliath of a stadium also cemented United’s considerable advantage over the rest of the division financially.

By 2004/05, the Deloitte Football Money League showed the Red Devils earned $85.7 million a season from Old Trafford, this amounted to around 42% of its revenue and was significantly more than its nearest rivals Chelsea and Liverpool.

The trouble is, after a final expansion in 2006, there have been no more improvements to Old Trafford.

A limiting factor is that the one stand ripe for development, the South Stand backs onto a railway line, which is a significant engineering hurdle.

Although the size of the stadium is far from supporters only concern.

Fear Of Being Left Behind

Speaking to the Guardian in 2019, Dave Pennington, the vice-chair of the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust, said: “Supporters have no faith in the owners committing the substantial long-term investment needed.

“There’s been no major development since the quadrants were built in 2006. The subsequent investment has been limited to mandatory – but still welcome – expansion of disabled facilities and corporate hospitality. Old Trafford is still the biggest in the Premier League but it’s now far from the best – the facilities are limited and outdated.”

Fan frustrations are made worse by witnessing rivals, whose facilities they used to mock, surpass them with state-of-the-art new stadia.

Manchester City who was playing in a stadium United fans mockingly referred to as ‘the Temple of Doom’ in the 1990s now has an arena of a far higher standard.

It is the Red Devils’ nemesis that stands at the forefront of the executive matchday experience with its ‘Tunnel Club’―a suite that allows those willing to fork out $1,200 a seat the chance to watch the players line up through a glass viewing section.

For United, who were pioneers of the high-end soccer fan market this state of affairs must be a galling.

“Old Trafford carries memories, history. And a soul. The key is what the crowd in the near future might want – and a younger audience will want what others provide elsewhere,” a concerned Barney Chilton, of Red News fanzine, added in the 2019 Guardian piece.

“I remain convinced that under different owners we’d have seen Old Trafford remain at the forefront of design and upgrades. We have had token work done on it, and doesn’t it show? The leaking roof is a fitting analogy for the recent United.”

It might have arrived later than he was hoping, but Chilton’s alternative vision may now be within reach.

As talks from several different parties over the sale of the club progress, it’s been reported in The Times officials presented buyers with data about the stadium.

This included a range of options for redevelopment, including expansion and a new-build construction in the area adjacent to the existing Old Trafford.

Such improvements can’t come soon enough.

Just down the motorway from Old Trafford, Everton’s new stadium has been progressing at a pace and will soon put it on a par with city rival’s Liverpool improved Anfield home, meanwhile, on the other side of Manchester there are fresh proposals for another upgrade at City.

United faces the prospect of not even being in the top three stadiums in the north west of England let alone nationally or the world.