Manchester United has officially announced the location for building a new stadium with a capacity of 100,000 seats, expected to become the largest stadium in the United Kingdom.
According to the plan, the project will be built about 350m northwest of the current Old Trafford stadium. Meanwhile, the future of Old Trafford stadium has not yet been decided by the club.
More than two weeks earlier, Man United confirmed that they had completed the purchase of most of the land area for the project. This is an important step forward in the plan to redevelop the Trafford Wharfside area, with the new stadium being the key item.
According to the plan, Trafford Wharfside will be developed into a sports, entertainment and commercial complex operating year-round. The project also includes the construction of thousands of new houses, upgrading the public transport system, and expanding pedestrian and bicycle routes.
Man United also announced the first simulated images of the entire area. However, the club emphasized that this is only a preliminary design and can still be adjusted during implementation.
After 115 years of attachment to Old Trafford - the stadium currently has a capacity of nearly 74,000 seats - Man United is expected to still play here until the new stadium is completed.
In the introduction documents, the new stadium is tentatively called "New Trafford" with a construction cost of about 2 billion pounds. The project is designed by architects in the shape of a giant umbrella, capable of collecting solar energy and rainwater to aim for sustainable development. The expected construction time is about 5 years.
Another highlight of the project is the three high towers, allowing the stadium to be seen from a distance of nearly 40km. Man United even said that in favorable weather conditions, the project can be observed from the suburbs of Liverpool city.
When completed, the new stadium with a capacity of 100,000 seats will become the largest stadium in England, surpassing Wembley (90,000 seats). In Europe, the project will rank second in capacity, only behind Barcelona's Camp Nou, the stadium is being upgraded to about 105,000 seats.
Meanwhile, Old Trafford currently has a capacity of 74,879 seats, while the Stretford End stands at the new stadium are planned with about 23,500 seats, distributed on both the lower and upper floors.
