Darren Lewis just now talking on SSN about the Government backing to the rags for the regeneration of surrounding areas of the new/regenerated old toilet... And to be fair to him, he made the point that our owners have regenerated the area by putting their own money in whereas the billionaire owners of the rags are getting the government/tax payer to pay for it.
I know this might not go down well with the majority of you being Manchester based, but here’s my perspective from someone who lives nowhere near Manchester, but still in the North.
When the Commonwealth stadium was built, and you guys took ownership of it, Manchester was in a different place to what it is 22 years later to now. Manchester needed regeneration, and no private company saw money in it to go it alone, so the government had to kick start it.
Right now though Manchester is the Northern London, and although it may not officially be the case, it is both Englands and the UK’s 2nd city now.
Companies are lining up to invest in Manchester, you have skyscrapers etc all being built with private funds, companies moved skilled jobs to the city.
With your stadium, and the new Coop venue, alongside the existing arena, you have massive concerts etc being hosted in Manchester. You’re airport is massively successful and sucks up passengers from not only the North West, but the Midlands, and all the way up into Scotland.
Without being provocative, from the opinion of everyone else in the North, the money for the North by the government for the last 20 years or so has went to Manchester with ministers saying ‘Look we invested in the North’.
For all intends purposes, Manchester doesn’t need government intervention to build a few hotels, some apartment complexes, and a couple of office buildings that will make it attractive for Man Utd to build a new 100k seater fuck off stadium.
The richest clubs figures came out a few days ago and Manchester United are still one of the richest clubs not only in the country, but the world. The land they want to build on is owned by millionaires and billionaires, they have the money to kick start it if they want to. I’m going to say this last bit bluntly as well. If none of it never got built, Manchester as a city isn’t missing out. Tourists will still come to your city to watch both Man Utd and you. Large scale events will still be held in Manchester, jobs will still be created, private companies will still be lining up for available land such as around Old Trafford to build their new offices and apartment complexes.
We (Newcastle United) are about to announce what we are doing with our stadium in the next few months. Will the government be providing funding so we can build a fan park, hotels, and apartments on club land adjacent to SJP?
I doubt it.
Meanwhile half a mile away from SJP an overpass in Gateshead has been forced to close before Christmas. We don’t have the money to demolish it, the government won’t give us emergency funding, and the council has tried and failed on 2 separate occasions in recent years to gain funding from central government. This is a key route from Gateshead into Newcastle, which leads over the Tyne bridge, which is awaiting it’s final amount of money it requires to complete it’s refurbishment, 5 years after it should have been given.
Another bridge across the Tyne is going the same way as the overpass in Gateshead, and that needs funding to deal with that.
The historic High level railway bridge is going to have to be rebuilt in the next few years, there is no funding for that.
Our Metro system still needs its final allocation of funding approved so it can complete its renewal process to keep our Metro system running, 15-20 years after it should have been given. This is just in the Tyneside area, every area outside Greater Manchester, and London will have similar lists of stories.
It would be a complete shambles if Manchester gets government funding so Taylor Swift can perform a concert at Old Trafford instead of the Etihad.
