Land price could force redesign of Manchester United stadium

Foster + Partners’ three-pronged canopy design, a nod to the trident of the Red Devils, could be swapped for a more simplistic model as a result of uncertainty over land costs, according to media reports.

According to a report in The Athletic, refreshed plans for Manchester United’s 100,000-seater stadium are now being hashed out. Place North West approached the club for comment.

The football club’s £2bn pitch for ‘The Wembley of the North’ suffered a setback in August due to a reported £350m chasm between its valuation of the land next to the existing Old Trafford stadium and that of its current owner, Freightliner.

Freightliner, which is in the process of being taken over by CMA CGM, valued the railyard surrounding Old Trafford at £400m, a far cry from United’s £50m valuation.

Acquiring the land would allow Manchester United to proceed with its preferred option of a new-build stadium, but without it, those plans would be scuppered.

The 250-acre rail freight terminal is considered a key area for the mixed-use redevelopment of Old Trafford. Credit: Google Earth

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, has previously suggested compulsory purchase powers could be used to free up the land needed for the regeneration project if a deal cannot be agreed.

At the stadium’s unveiling at MIPIM 2025, with designs by practice Foster + Partners, Manchester United’s chief executive, Collette Roche, said that despite land assembly not being finalised, she did not consider the announcement of plans a risk.

Manchester United had expected work to start on site by the end of 2025, though minimal progress has been made towards that deadline.

Despite early designs by Foster + Partners being unveiled, the club has yet to hire a final stadium architect.