MANCHESTER UNITED APPOINT OLD TRAFFORD MASTERPLANNERS
Manchester United has appointed a team of leading consultants to begin work on creating a master plan for the redevelopment of Old Trafford, the club has announced. The team of consultants will be led by Legends International, a leading management consulting advisory and planning firm for sports, entertainment, and leisure industries, and Populous, a global architectural design firm that specializes in sports facilities, arenas, and convention centers.
Both Legends International and Populous have a wealth of stadium development experience all over the world and have worked on projects globally including: Fiserv Forum Arena (Milwaukee Bucks), Etihad Stadium (Manchester City FC), Craven Cottage (Fulham FC), Wanda Metropolitano (Club Atletico de Madrid), Santiago Bernabeu (Real Madrid Club de Futbol), UBS Arena (New York Islanders), T-Mobile Arena (Vegas Golden Knights), The View From The Shard in London, and most notably, Tottenham Hotspur FC’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The two firms also brag of numerous global partners including SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Rams & Los Angeles Chargers), Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas Raiders), Los Angeles FC, Lower.com Field (Columbus Crew), Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego State University), Wimbledon (AELTC), and Anfield (Liverpool FC).
“Fans will be at the heart of the process, starting with a meeting between the consultants and the Manchester United Fans’ Advisory Board later this month,” the club said in a statement.
Manchester United’s Old Trafford boasts a capacity of 74,140 and has been the club’s home since 1910. The stadium has, however, not undergone significant restoration work since the addition of second tiers to both the northwest and northeast quadrants in 2006.
Manchester United also announced that a similar process is also underway in relation to the club’s training facilities. The club has appointed KSS, an award-winning architectural and design firm that is behind Leicester City FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, and Liverpool FC’s new state-of-the-art, world-class, training grounds, to develop a master plan for newly expanded facilities for the Men’s, Women’s, and Academy teams.
The club has not put a time stamp on the project or an exact cost figure but the amount is rumored to be upwards of £200million. This will be the first time the stadium’s capacity has increased with a decision taken under the Glazers’ ownership as plans to improve the quadrants, installed in 2006, were signed off in 2004, a year before the Glazer family took over the club in 2005.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero