Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a new 100,000-seater Manchester United stadium and masterplan for the Old Trafford stadium district in the UK.
The focus is to design a world-class football destination and home for Manchester United fans, coupled with a wider masterplan comprising mixed-use developments, which would benefit the local community, attract new residents, increase job provision, and make it a vibrant destination for visitors from Manchester, the UK and all around the world.
The sports-led regeneration project would transform the one-million-square-meter brownfield site into a thriving mixed-use district, with a network of green civic spaces, streets, bridges, and waterfront areas.
Gallery: Manchester United stadium and Old Trafford district (Renders)
According to the designers, the 100,000-seater stadium bowl would provide an unrivalled match day experience, increasing fans’ proximity to the pitch and creating an intimate atmosphere with outstanding acoustics. Modular offsite prefabrication and use of the Manchester Ship Canal would significantly increase the speed of construction.
Lord Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners, said: “This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today, with incredible regional and national significance. It all starts with the fans’ experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar. The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square. The outward-looking stadium would be the beating heart of a new sustainable district, which is completely walkable, served by public transport, and endowed by nature. It is a mixed-use miniature city of the future – driving a new wave of growth and creating a global destination that Mancunians can be proud of.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Co-owner of Manchester United, said: “This marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadiums, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford. Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport. By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.
“Just as important is the opportunity for a new stadium to be the catalyst for social and economic renewal of the Old Trafford area, creating jobs and investment not just during the construction phase but on a lasting basis when the stadium district is complete. The Government has identified infrastructure investment as a strategic priority, particularly in the north of England, and we are proud to be supporting that mission with this project of national, as well as local, significance.”