Manchester United to spend £2bn on 100,000-seater stadium

Manchester United are tipping to knock down Old Trafford and build a new 100,000-capacity stadium as part of Europe’s biggest regeneration project.

A taskforce chaired by Lord Coe and featuring representatives from the club, former United defender Gary Neville and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, has so far focused its discussions on a new stadium rather than redeveloping their current home, understand.

However, no firm decision has yet been made, with the best way forward to be determined by the task force before the end of the year.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made improving United’s facilities a priority since acquiring 25% of the club earlier this year.

Redevelopment is the slightly cheaper option than a new build – estimated at £1.2bn compared to £2bn – but “it’s not perfect because you’re altering a stadium which is hit by a railway line”, he said. Ratcliffe said in February.

He added: “There is a wider conversation with the community about whether you could use a more ambitious project on site as a catalyst to regenerate that area of ​​Old Trafford.

“There is a strong case for using a stadium to regenerate that area, as with the Olympics, as Seb Coe has done with that part of east London successfully. (Manchester) City did it and they did a pretty good job.”

Sources close to the task force say the project is wider in scope than just the stadium and could represent the most ambitious regeneration project in Europe.

The task force first met in April and is understood to have met four times so far.

Additional reporting by PA.