Manchester United are hoping to have their new 100,000-seater stadium ready to host the Women’s World Cup Final in 2035.
Concerns have been raised about the lack of progress in the year since United unveiled ambitious plans at the offices of Foster + Partners in London to build a £2billion arena to replace Old Trafford.
But Daily Mail Sport revealed last week that United hope to submit a planning application in the next 12 to 18 months, and the club’s CEO of stadium development Collette Roche believes the project is on course to meet Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s target of hosting the women’s final in nine years’ time.
‘Our plan is to be able to host other international sporting events and entertainment events,’ Roche told MUTV in an interview on Tuesday. ‘Andy Burnham, the mayor, said his ambition would be for us to host the final for the Women’s World Cup in 2035, so if we could pull that off, that would be incredible.
‘When we launched the idea of a new stadium 12 months ago, we did say it would take between four and five years for construction – and that’s right.
‘But I think people read that as we might have the stadium ready for 2030. But as you know, with a stadium build as complex as the one that we’re going to enter into, it does take one or two years to get ready for construction.
Man United chiefs are confident that their ambitious new £2billion stadium will be ready in time to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup final
Plans drawn up by Foster + Partners last year caught the eye but has been little forward movement since
‘To get the land assembled, to get the funds in place and to get the planning permission. So that’s the part that we’re doing right now. So we’ve not named a date for opening, but we are on track within those timescales.
‘We want to build a stadium that’s befitting of our past, but also fit for the future. We want to make sure that we keep what’s important, the special memories that people have had, and not just for our fans, but for our players.
‘So we need to create a new stadium that retains that essence – the match day routines, the emotion, the intimidating atmosphere for the away fans and make sure we build something really, really special. And we think we can do that through a 100,000-seater stadium.’
United face a number of challenges before construction can start, including securing public funding for the wider Old Trafford regeneration project and private investment for the stadium itself.
Most importantly, the club has to secure extra land around Old Trafford, and negotiations with Freightliner over acquiring the freight terminal behind the stadium have been dragging on for some time. However, it’s understood that a breakthrough may be in sight.
Roche added: ‘We’ve made a lot of progress in the last twelve months. But to be fair, a lot of it has been behind the scenes.
‘So people might not have seen that, but some of the examples of progress we’ve made is first and foremost on the land assembly. We want to make sure we get the best possible position for this stadium; one which has got plenty of land around it to put the right facilities in place, and one that’s connected and offers a great match day experience.
‘So I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to all the local landowners to understand where that needs to be, and we’re progressing that really, really well, and I’m hoping to be able to share some positive news on that front in the next few months.
‘The second area that we’ve done a lot in is around investment, and I’m delighted to say we’ve had a lot of interest. There’s a lot of people and organisations that want to invest, not just in the stadium, but also in the wider stadium district. Those conversations are naturally going to be behind closed doors.
‘The third part, but arguably the most important work we’ve been doing, is really laying the foundations and relationships with the people that are going to make this happen.
‘Primarily, it’s the local authorities. It’s working with the newly established Mayoral Development Corporation that’s chaired by Lord Seb Coe.
‘It’s supported by Andy Burnham, our mayor, who thinks it’s going to bring amazing benefits for the city region, and also by Tom Ross, who’s obviously our leader here in Trafford. They’re a really important group of people.
‘They are going to help us with the planning, make sure we’ve got the infrastructure around the stadium to be able to get in and out efficiently and effectively, but also the ones that will remove any obstacles that we come up against as we go through this build, and to make sure that we can deliver the benefits.’
