The SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is home to NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Photo courtesy of the SoFi Stadium
Paul Kennedy
Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, was once a fabulous football stadium, by far the best in England’s top tier.
I’ve been there many times, not just to see my team Liverpool play United, but also for FA Cup semi-finals as in days gone by it was often chosen as a neutral ground to host big games.
Unfortunately, the stadium today is a shadow of its former self. Tired, falling apart in places and in desperate need of a complete overhaul.
New United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to go one big step further.
This week he’s revealed plans to build a brand new 100,000-capacity stadium to replace Old Trafford.
The $2.5 billion project could be completed by 2030, eclipsing Wembley as the biggest stadium in the country and making it the second largest in Europe behind Barcelona’s revamped 105,000-seater Nou Camp.
The SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, has been mentioned as a possible venue that is inspiring United, more so after they recently played Arsenal there in a preseason friendly.
It really is a special, state-of-the art sports venue.
The roof is a giant LED screen visible to planes landing at nearby LAX airport, making it what has been described as the ‘biggest advertising opportunity in the world’.
United’s hierarchy have held a number of meetings with the team behind the SoFi development, as well as carrying out extensive research on other fairly new stadiums like Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur’s ground and the Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid.
There is one, slight, fly in the ointment though as far as United are concerned and that’s the price tag.
As rich as Sir Jim Ratcliff is, and also the majority owners, the Glazer family, there’s no way on earth United can afford to pay for it on their own.
The club are looking at public-private funding opportunities for the new stadium and naming rights are also being considered.
And the UK’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has already indicated that he would be open to conversations about government support for transport links.
The latest development I read this week suggests that if United do decide to build from scratch, they are open to keeping Old Trafford, reducing its capacity and using it for their academy and women’s teams.
This would also solve the problem of United having to play their Premier League games elsewhere while they wait for the new stadium to be built.
United supporters are being consulted over the plans, which is the right way to do things. Fans after all, are the beating heart of any team.
If they do decide to bulldoze Old Trafford, I for one will miss it. VNS
OVietnam