United Thread | 2025/26

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bennyboy said:
Is this old news.
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Liverpool business buys site where Man Utd want to build stadium

Earlier this year Manchester United announced plans for a new 100,000 stadium to replace Old Trafford
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk www.liverpoolecho.co.uk
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Manchester United draw up plans for new Old Trafford without canopy​

Manchester United draw up plans for new Old Trafford without canopy

By Laurie Whitwell
Sept. 26, 2025 4:45 pm UTC
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Manchester United have had plans drawn up for a new Old Trafford where the canopy that caused such a stir when unveiled earlier this year is removed.
The club are looking at alternatives to the bold design presented in March by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and architect Sir Norman Foster, due to issues over purchasing the required land.
Talks have been held with Freightliner, the company that owns much of the area to the west of the current ground, which had been earmarked for part of the new stadium footprint and some 17,000 homes.
But Freightliner is demanding around £400million ($535m) for the land, according to sources familiar with proceedings who spoke on the condition of anonymity, substantially higher than United’s projected price in the region of £50m, as first reported by The Guardian. The company is willing to relocate the freight terminal to a new site but is so far holding out for a major windfall.
Amid the impasse, United are considering different options for a new stadium, with drawings in the works showing what Foster termed “a vast umbrella” scrapped due to space.
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(Manchester United/Foster + Partners)
The huge covering, which critics compared to a circus tent, was a striking element of the artist’s concept images released to the public six months ago by Foster + Partners. The proposed 100,000-capacity stadium had its own roof, so the canopy — estimated to cost between £300m to £400m to construct and put in place — was mainly aesthetic, other than to offer cover to people during bad weather, thus raising their possible dwell time at kiosks or fan zones underneath.
But it represented a significant aspect of the presentation and caused huge debate due to its apparent incongruence to the Manchester skyline and the club’s industrial history.
Others liked how the three prongs holding up the canopy rose high into the sky, causing an idiosyncratic silhouette. Architects explained how, once the design became established, they felt the three prongs, combined with the long stretch of walkway to the east of the planned stadium, symbolised the devil’s trident and handle on the club crest. United say they remain excited by the vision set out by Foster + Partners but that it was conceptual and detailed architectural work would follow.
Ratcliffe said at the time: “The brief to Norman Foster here was to build the world’s most iconic football stadium. It had to be a stadium which was recognisable around the world.
“We said to Norman that we would like a stadium where when anybody in the world sees that stadium, they’ll know it’s Manchester United.
“It’s more than a new stadium. Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, everyone wants to visit. Everyone in the world will want to come visit this stadium.
“I think the design of the stadium is a 10 out of 10. I think it’s a really special design.”
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The updated designs are described by sources as being more in line with traditional stadium appearances. Deliberations are live, with Foster’s design still an option, although should United proceed with a contingency plan without the canopy, it would require less Freightliner land and could therefore progress more quickly. Various options over the precise location of the stadium structure are being explored and each would require different amounts and configurations of land.
United launched their campaign for government funding for the surrounding areas in March, with Ratcliffe saying: “The government has identified infrastructure investment as a strategic priority, particularly in the north of England, and we are proud to be supporting that mission with this project of national, as well as local, significance.” Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave backing to United’s plans.
But half a year on, there has yet to be any concrete scope of government assistance, with an agreement first required for United to purchase the land owned by Freightliner in what is termed the “stadium district”.
United told the fans’ forum in June: “Discussions are also ongoing with local authorities, land owners and potential funding partners with a view to securing the land and the finance we need to proceed with the project. It remains our ambition to proceed with the project as quickly as possible, but we can only do this once the necessary land and funding is in place.
“We have been clear that construction of the stadium is the responsibility of the club, but we need support from government for enabling work and public infrastructure around the stadium, including the relocation of the adjacent freight terminal.”
Old Trafford has been Manchester United's home since 1910 (Michael Regan/Getty Images)


Old Trafford has been Manchester United’s home since 1910 (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor who is on the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force, said in August that talks between United and Freightliner were “far from being concluded”. He added that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority had approved a mayoral development corporation, which “has compulsory purchase powers if needed”. But the architects’ hopes — communicated in March — to begin the project this year appear highly unlikely.
Shipping conglomerate CMA CGM, headquartered in Marseille, agreed a deal earlier this week to buy Freightliner’s UK rail and road operations. The takeover is scheduled to close early next year, a press release from CMA CGM said on Monday, but what that means for the Old Trafford talks is unclear.
United have not yet appointed Foster + Partners to follow through as stadium architects, with a tender process underway for alternative companies. Industry sources speculate that the small stadium team at Foster + Partners will be busy flying to Milan to work on the new San Siro, a deal which was announced this week. But they are regarded as the favourites having done so much work already.
Funding for the new stadium in its entirety, which originally came with an estimated cost of £2billion, is also yet to be confirmed, with United’s financial picture still tight.
United told the fans’ forum in June: “The new stadium design concepts revealed in March were produced by Foster + Partners, one of the world’s leading architectural practices. This built upon their earlier masterplanning work for the wider stadium district, announced in September. While the stadium itself was not formally part of that exercise, it was always intended to sit at the heart of the masterplan and act as a catalyst for regeneration.
“As such, illustrative concepts were produced to help shape thinking and demonstrate the transformative potential of a new stadium. These concepts serve as a starting point for the next phase of work, which will include more detailed feasibility studies, fan consultation, and design development. A formal process to appoint a stadium architect is underway, and, as with all club appointments, will be made following appropriate due diligence and in line with our governance policies.”
(Top photo: Manchester United/Foster + Partners)
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www.nytimes.com

Manchester United draw up plans for new Old Trafford without canopy

Issues over purchasing the required land have led to United exploring alternative options for their new stadium.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

 
Xhavenjoe said:
A lad called Harry Maguire has just won Masterchef 2025.
I'd say Luke Shaw wil be inconsolable when he finds out its not actually the Greek island fugitive.
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Thanks a lot. I had it on record.,to watch when I came in. He was a good cook though.
 
richardtheref said:
Paul Parker on talksport this morning.
1. It will take 2/3 years to get utd playing the way he wants.
2. Giggs and Scholes wouldn't get a game in the Amorim system.
3. Utd dominated the derby once Mainoo came on
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3-0 down & one shot on target really shouts dominance, doesnt it. About as believable as piss cans comments after the sick swan
 
Johnny Mars Bar said:
that thing will never get built in a million years. it's nothing but a smoke and mirrors bullshit distraction from the glazers and ragcliffe.
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Looks like they're having to remove the flysheet, now that the multinational corporation Freightliner are playing hardball with their site . There again, according to the article, they haven't appointed an architect yet . As you say , pie in the sky .
 
Parasitical freeloaders, that's all they are. Adding to their already considerable debt by loading more on top of it for more players, and now they want ground improvements as long as someone else pays for it. Great business model, Worzel, absolutely great.
 
Johnny Mars Bar said:
that thing will never get built in a million years. it's nothing but a smoke and mirrors bullshit distraction from the glazers and ragcliffe.
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I suspect you are right. The freight terminal owner values the land at circa £400m but the Rags think the Mayor can issue a compulsory purchase order and steal it for £50m. That’s never going to happen. Freightliner are prepared to move their operation from Old Trafford but they are not going to foot the bill… hence the £400m asking price. Building a new freight terminal and electrifying it will cost a fortune. Scruffy Jim as a ‘non-dom’ seems to have some pretty strong views on how the UK should spend its tax revenues that he doesn’t of course contribute to.
 
Still, they will be okay in January when the FA Cup moves up a gear. Some home draws against non-league fodder (whose best players will be 'mysteriously injured' a day or so before the game) and lots of penalties will guarantee them yet another home tie, thereby adding more filthy lucre that will NOT go towards paying off some of their debt.
 
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