EXACTLY ONE year ago, Manchester United revealed the design for their new stadium.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was present at architecture firm Foster + Partners’ London office, where images, video and models were on display to showcase the breadth of what would be a 100,000 all-seater stadium.
United targeted an opening date of 2030. There was even talk of spades in the ground before the end of 2025.
A year on, that move-in date is about as likely as the Premier League title returning to Old Trafford this season.
On the United website’s stadium section, it speaks volumes that the last item of news is from March 2025.
There is still no funding for a project that Ratcliffe has estimated will cost £2billion.
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Lord Coe, head of the Old Trafford regeneration taskforce, visited New York in July to sound out potential investors.
Well-placed sources have stressed that there is a difference between what is public and what is private in regards to United seeking backers for what would be Europe’s biggest football stadium.
A source familiar with the behind-scenes-discussions insisted that the funding search has been “going well”.
The March unveiling 12 months ago was kept so closely under wraps invites were not sent until less than 48 hours before the gathering.
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With Ratcliffe, 73, eager to get the project up-and-running, United had to show concept designs to appeal to potential investors.
So the divisive ‘canopy’ roof that Ratcliffe compared to the Eiffel Tower may never come to pass.
A source familiar with stadium construction estimates that the roof alone could cost £200million, which makes the £2billionn stadium cost an optimistic estimate.
It would also increase the stadium’s footprint.
That would strengthen the hand of Freightliner, who operate the Trafford Park rail terminal, to negotiate a price to sell their land adjacent to the stadium.
In January, United hailed the “landmark moment” of the launch of the Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation (OTR MDC), chaired by Coe.
Sources say Coe is heading up a team tasked with unlocking opportunities, and overcoming challenges.
Former United chief operating officer Collette Roche is now chief executive of the new stadium development.
That has sharpened Roche’s task to essentially get the stadium plans off the ground and deliver it.
A source who has dealt with Roche cynically said: “They’ve chucked her in charge of a stadium that isn’t going to happen.”
United already have a debt of £1.3bn, so borrowing capital from lenders is off the table.
Another route to significant financing would be equity, whereby the club issues more shares or sale of existing shares. Yet that would risk diluting the Glazers’ and Ratcliffe’s share of the ownership.
A third alternative is a ‘Stadco’ situation where the stadium is owned partly by the club and partly by external investors, who then provide the capital needed.
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Only that could throw a spanner in the works of a future sale, as the club’s assets would only include a percentage of the stadium that United would own.
Before Ratcliffe came on the scene, United hired stadium masterplanners Populous to draw up the feasibility of a new stadium or redeveloping Old Trafford.
Joel Glazer’s preference was to renovate Old Trafford. Glazer, who has not attended a United home game since April 2019, likened visiting Old Trafford to attending baseball games at Fenway Park, the storied home of the Boston Red Sox.
Glazer’s view was shared by senior executives on the ground in Manchester. Said senior executives are long gone with Ratcliffe on the scene.
Ratcliffe candidly said at a briefing with journalists in the Ineos offices in February 2024 that it was a “no-brainer” to knock down Old Trafford to make way for a new arena.
The consensus – before and after Ratcliffe arrived – is that a new-build could be constructed quicker than a drastic redevelopment of Old Trafford.
But architectural industry sources say hiring Lord Foster would increase the cost. His firm is renowned for their expensiveness.
Populous designed Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but Ratcliffe favoured Mancunian Foster’s firm, which revamped United’s £50m Carrington training complex.
United have six billionaire board directors in the Glazer siblings, who have not invested a single cent at United in almost 21 years.
Ratcliffe, whose net worth was £17bn last year, has ploughed more than £300m in the club since he became co-owner two years ago.
United have been at pains to stress that taxpayers will not fund the stadium. Sources have been told that Ratcliffe privately believes it should be a possibility.
Ratcliffe met incoming prime minister Sir Keir Starmer in Manchester in May 2024 and the government have been effusive in their backing for the Trafford regeneration project.
It is hard to imagine Ratcliffe uttering his incendiary comments about the United Kingdom being “colonised” by immigrants and opining that Starmer is “too nice” if the stadium plans had seriously advanced.
Ratcliffe also revealed that he had met the Reform leader Nigel Farage, touted as the next prime minister.
Starmer insisted Ratcliffe’s remarks were “offensive and wrong” and urged him to apologise.
It is quite the departure from a year ago, when Ratcliffe revealed the Labour government “want to get going quite quickly because they want to see progress in this term”.
Beyond expressing backing, chancellor Rachel Reeves has not set out how a ‘New Trafford’ would be funded.
Naming rights are on the table but United saw a fall in commercial revenue in their latest accounts by £6.6m.
They have not had a training ground sponsor for almost five years and United are still without a training kit partner after their deal with Tezos expired in the summer.
Prominent partnerships with Marriott and Melitta ended last year. Sources familiar with United’s commercial operations admitted they are “struggling” to bring in new partners.
Discussions are ongoing with prospective new sponsors, with a particular focus on the training kit due to its frequent exposure.
In the meantime, there was the latest announcement of 5 per cent ticket-price rises at Old Trafford last week, which equate to a little over £2 per game on average for adult season ticket holders.
More general admission tickets close to the directors’ box in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand will be relocated to make way for hospitality spaces.
Some hospitality ticket-holders can now get a pitchside view of warm-ups. This was happening at Manchester City at least nine seasons ago.
City, Tottenham and Everton all boast ‘tunnel clubs’ now. United’s tunnel was redecorated at the start of last season.
Concourse facilities have been upgraded in some areas of Old Trafford, with self-service beer ‘vending machines’ installed. Thirsty fans received a message of the promise of 25 per cent off if they arrived an hour before kick-off.
With no European football and only 20 home matches to be played this season, United stressed they have to drive revenues to reinvest in the first team and facilities.
They have eyed a virtual season ticket for non-matchgoers, having been impressed by the Cosm Los Angeles centre in Hollywood Park that offers soccer fans the chance to watch games in a ‘shared reality’.
But City have beaten United to the punch again. Last week, they submitted a planning application to the council for a new event venue at the Etihad Campus to host the immersive Mamma Mia, The Party musical.
While their rivals opt for the new, United are bound to be in Old Trafford for a while longer.
