The latest update from Sky Sports says that Sir Jim Ratcliffe's group is now backing the plan to build a new Old Trafford. If this is implemented, Manchester United's new roof will have a capacity of 100,000 seats, becoming the largest stadium in the UK.
In early September, the first images of the new Old Trafford were revealed. According to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, when completed, this will be the most modern stadium in the world. Mr. Burnham also said that Manchester United will not seek public investment for this project. However, the government and businesses still leave open the possibility of cooperation as a public investment project.
According to Oxford Economics, if the new Old Trafford were to be built, it would bring in around £7.3bn a year to the UK economy. It would create around 92,000 additional jobs and 17,000 new homes, attracting around 1.8 million visitors a year.
According to the Telegraph, Sir Jim Ratcliffe initially opposed the idea of moving the club's home ground. Later, fans suggested that Old Trafford could still be moved but not outside the area of land owned by the club. Man United owns about 100 acres of land around Old Trafford. Of this, 43 acres have been assessed as suitable for development. About 25 acres are said to be unused and Man United want to use it as soon as possible.
Alongside the opinions on rebuilding Old Trafford, there are still opinions that the old stadium should be upgraded. Director at Zaha Hadid Architects - Jim Herevin believes that Man United should learn from the way Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool are doing.
"If you stand at Old Trafford, you will see that the fans do not want to move, they will tend to upgrade more. Look at what Liverpool did with Anfield. That is more like building the future, not building a new stadium" - Herevin shared.
Like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur also renovated the old White Hart Lane. They spent 3 years renting Wembley before returning to their new 61,000-seat home in 2019. Spurs' new home is considered one of the best complexes in England.
The Telegraph calculated that if Man United expanded and upgraded the current Old Trafford, it would cost about 800 million pounds. Meanwhile, if they built a new one, the cost would range from 1.5 to 2 billion pounds. Tottenham's new home stadium after completion cost about 1.2 billion pounds.
The last time Man United carried out major construction projects at Old Trafford was 19 years ago, in June 2005, when the Glazer family first took over. Nearly two decades have passed, which is a very long time for Man United fans.
