Man Utd unveiled ambitious plans to build a world-class 100,000-seater new Old Trafford at an event in London last year.
Collette Roche has hinted that Manchester United’s new stadium may be completed later than the initial 2030 target. Last year, United unveiled ambitious plans for a state-of-the-art stadium, but the timeframe for completing the project was also considered ambitious.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe identified the 2030/31 season as the target. The British billionaire will be 77 when that Premier League campaign begins, and he views the new stadium as a legacy project.
However, United have not begun construction, suggesting the stadium project will be completed later than 2030. Spurs spent nearly three seasons at Wembley while the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was under construction, and Everton took four years to build Hill Dickinson Stadium.
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In January, Roche was appointed as ‘chief executive officer, new stadium development’, formalising her role in leading the club’s participation in the Old Trafford regeneration planning. Roche recently sat down with club media to discuss plans for the new Old Trafford, and she was asked for a fresh update on the club’s timeline for completion.
“I think when we launched the idea of a new stadium 12 months ago, we did say it would take between four and five years for construction,” she said.
“And that’s right. But I think people read that as we might have the stadium ready for 2030. But as you know, with a stadium build as complex as the one that we’re going to enter into, it does take one or two years to get ready for construction.
“To get the land assembled, to get the funds in place and to get the planning permission. So that’s the part that we’re doing right now. So we’ve not named a date for opening, but we are on track within those timescales.”
Before United can push ahead with new stadium plans, they must reach a deal for the rail yard surrounding Old Trafford. The land is owned by Freightliner, but the club are hoping to reach an agreement in the “next few months.”
Roche said: “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last 12 months. But to be fair, a lot of it has been behind the scenes. So people might not have seen that, but some of the examples of progress we’ve made is first and foremost on the land assembly.
“We want to make sure we get the best possible position for this stadium, one which has got plenty of land around it to put the right facilities in place, one that’s connected and offers a great match day experience.
“So I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to all the local landowners to understand where that needs to be, and we’re progressing that really, really well, and I’m hoping to be able to share some positive news on that front in the next few months.”
Speaking about delivering the stadium project, she added: “Same ambition, same vision. We want to build a stadium that’s befitting of our past, but also fit for the future. We want to make sure that we keep what’s important, the special memories that people have had, and not just for our fans, but for our players.
“So we need to create a new stadium that retains that essence the match day routines, the emotion, the intimidating atmosphere for the away fans and make sure we build something really, really special.
“And we think we can do that through a 100,000 seater stadium. And because we’re so blessed, we’ve got a season ticket waiting list at the moment, so we think it’s our duty and obviously our desire to be able to give them the opportunity to come and witness what we know will be a fantastic experience in our new stadium.”
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