Manchester, UK – May 19 2018: The United Trinity bronze sculpture which composed with George Best, Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton in front of Old Trafford stadium
Manchester United want to keep Old Trafford in a reduced capacity, even if they press ahead with plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium.
The club, guided by a taskforce that includes Seb Coe and Gary Neville, are leaning towards building a new stadium on surrounding land owned by the club on the site of their current stadium.
It was assumed that Old Trafford, the club’s home since 1910, would be demolished to maximise space for the new stadium.
The club own swathes of land around Old Trafford, but with a 100,000 capacity and plans to build a hotel and entertainment area, knocking down the current stadium would provide even more space.
But United have listened to feedback from supporters, who are at odds with the thought of tearing down a stadium with so much history.
The club are now exploring the opportunity of keeping their current stadium and reducing the capacity to around 30,000.
United own large swathes of land around Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)
This would allow United’s women’s team and academy teams to play at Old Trafford, and would give them a permanent home.
It would also mean the Munich tunnel, Munich memorial, Trinity statue and Sir Matt Busby statue could remain on their current site.
United’s taskforce expect to make a decision by December and will recommend a plan to the club’s board.
It remains possible that renovating Old Trafford – at a cost of around £1.1bn – could be recommended.
However, the taskforce are currently leaning towards a £2bn build of a new 100,000-seater stadium, which would be the biggest in the UK.
A new stadium would take around six years to build and United could continue to play in Old Trafford until its ready.
Renovating the current stadium could take around a decade, and would see United playing to vastly reduced crowds at various points.
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