A decision on whether Manchester United will redevelop Old Trafford or move to a new stadium is expected in summer 2025, confirmed the club.
The two choices are being explored by the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force, which includes Jim Ratcliffe, Sebastian Coe, Gary Neville and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Coe offered an update on Instagram, posting on Tuesday evening: ‘Today, I had the honour of chairing the final meeting of the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force in 2024.
‘This marked the conclusion of months of feasibility work to explore ways in which the development of a world-class football stadium can catalyse regeneration of the area around Old Trafford, delivering huge social and economic benefits for the local community, and the wider region.
‘This has been a multi-stakeholder process that has collected views from over 50,000 fans, plus residents, community members and businesses.
‘Today we discussed the outcome of this work in the form of an options report with Manchester United, Trafford Borough Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to help inform their decision-making process.
‘At every stage we have challenged all involved to recognise the opportunity that sport presents as a powerful driver for transformational urban regeneration and that is reflected in the report. Manchester United will now work together with local authorities to review the findings and agree a path forward in the months ahead.’
An additional statement from Manchester United confirmed that, ‘a decision on the direction of travel regarding a redeveloped or new-build stadium expected in the summer.’
When the taskforce was unveiled in March, United co-owner Ratcliffe said: ‘This can be a major regeneration project for an area of Greater Manchester which has played such a key role in British industrial history, but which today requires new investment to thrive again.
‘The northwest of England has a greater concentration of major football clubs than anywhere else in the world, yet we don’t have a stadium on the scale of Wembley, the Nou Camp or Bernabeu.
‘We will not be able to change that on our own, which is why this task force is so important to help us seize this once-in-a-century opportunity.’