Manchester United fans prefer new stadium to Old Trafford renovation

The majority of Manchester United fans prefer a new stadium over the Old Trafford renovation, a survey has shown.

Fifty-two percent of the Red Devils’ more than 50,000 season ticket holders, members and club executives favor the idea of ​​new construction, compared with 31 percent who support redeveloping the existing stadium.

Seventeen per cent are undecided on the best option, which is being considered by the club’s owners in conjunction with the Old Trafford Revitalization Task Force, which includes former United defender Gary Neville, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and World Athletics president Lord Coe. membership.

The exact timing of a final decision on which path to take has not been set, but the PA news agency understands, as first reported by the Daily Telegraph, that it is now likely to happen in the spring or summer of next year once the task force’s findings have been fully taken into account. There were earlier indications that a decision would be made before the end of this year.

United said on Tuesday that an “options report” would still be submitted by the task force by the end of the year.

The task force is understood to have focused its discussions on building a new 100,000-seat stadium rather than renovating the existing site.

Sources close to the Task Force told PA in the summer that this was not just about building a new stadium and the plan would represent the most ambitious regeneration project in Europe.

United found that new season ticket holders were the most likely to support the new development, with positive attitudes also increasing with age.

Rick McGug, the club’s director of fan engagement, said: “We are delighted that this survey has received the highest number of responses in the club’s history. It shows how important this work is and this level of involvement at this stage is a really positive starting point.

“We know how important our home is to our fans and we need to listen to them and get all their views and ideas to build the world-class stadium they deserve.

“We can look at the results from different perspectives to see if our season ticket holders think differently than our official members. And if younger fans have different views on older fans. This insight is incredibly helpful and allows the project team to understand the differences as well as the commonalities of our fans.”

In September it was announced that United had appointed Foster + Partners to “develop a master plan for the Old Trafford stadium area, covering club-owned land surrounding the existing stadium.”

The club is holding town hall meetings at Old Trafford on Tuesday and Wednesday to offer fans further information on the various options and plans being discussed.