Ratcliffe lays out plans to demolish Old Trafford and replace with £3bn stadium
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to knock Old Trafford down and build a new home for Manchester United that will cost up to £3billion.
The new stadium will be built on the existing Old Trafford site or on land adjacent to it, with the aim of making it the biggest and best arena in world football. New United co-owner Ratcliffe has set-up a task force to explore the options for a major regeneration of the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester.
The 'Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force' is chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe, includes former United captain Gary Neville and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
Ratcliffe considered revamping Old Trafford at a cost of £1billion, but has decided the best course of action is to raze it to the ground and build a brand new state-of-the-art stadium.
Fellow United owners the Glazers have given the green light for the project, with the aim of creating a 'Wembley of the North' that is capable of hosting international games and major finals.
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Ratcliffe said: “The north-west 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 Bernabéu.
“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.”
Neville said: "Old Trafford has evolved throughout its history and it’s clear we are at a point where it has to change again to ensure that Manchester United has a world-class stadium befitting the world’s greatest club.
Sebastian Coe is part of Jim Ratcliffe's newly assembled taskforce (TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)“While I want the best for Manchester United, I also want the same for the surrounding community. Old Trafford should be a stadium that the whole of Greater Manchester can take pride in, and be a catalyst for sustainable, cohesive growth in an area of the city that has been neglected for too long.”
Lord Coe said: "Throughout my career in sport, I have seen the potential for stadiums to become focal points for strong communities and catalysts for social and economic development.
"That was certainly true of the venues we built in east London for the 2012 Olympics and we are overdue a project of similar scale and ambition in the north of England."
Burnham said: “The development of one of the most iconic stadiums in world football will help attract investment, create jobs, and lead to new opportunities that will not just benefit Trafford but communities across our city-region and beyond.
Ratcliffe wants United to have the best stadium in world football in the game and is willing to part fund the project from his personal £40bn fortune.
But the INEOS chief will look to attract funding partners from both the public and private sector, with the project also looking to include housing, leisure, business and education facilities that would create job opportunities and attract new investment to the area.
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