Detailed design of Man United’s multi-billion-pound stadium to begin imminently

Foster + Partners will ramp up efforts to craft Manchester United’s proposed 100,000-seater stadium from late summer with the aim of sharing a detailed vision for the ground before the end of the year or early next.

Speaking at the launch of the 370-acre Wharfside masterplan, chief executive of new stadium development at Manchester United Collette Roche said design work would move to the next stage in a couple of weeks.

In March 2025, the club unveiled concept designs for a new stadium at MIPIM. The early visuals showed a three-pronged canopy structure but Roche said all options for the ground’s aesthetic are on the table following the acquisition of land for the scheme from Indurent in June.

The football club wants to build what would be the UK’s largest sports stadium on a triangular, 25-acre site off John Gilbert Way, Wharfside Way, and Europa Way. The site of the proposed new stadium is around 350 metres north-west of the existing ground.

Manchester United had originally explored building its new ground closer to the existing one, utilising part of the Freightliner terminal. However, it was widely reported that the two companies differed significantly in their valuation of the site.

Roche insisted that while the site is further away, the club had not been forced to compromise.

“This is the prime location of the stadium,” she said, highlighting the logistical benefits of the site.

“Being 350 meters away for the next four or five years, or however long it takes to build a stadium, is going to be really important, because if it’s too close, it will be disruptive.

“Our players would be playing on a building site, the fans wouldn’t be able to get in and out, the transport would be a nightmare.”

This image from March 2025 shows early thinking for the design on a different plot. Credit: Foster + Partners

While the Wharfside masterplan states that the likely delivery window for the stadium is between 2031 and 2035, Roche refused be drawn on a date for the ribbon cutting.

However, Roche did reiterate a desire to see the ground open in time to host matches at the 2035 Women’s World Cup.

Question marks remain about how the stadium, expected to cost around £2bn to build, will be funded but Roche said she is not concerned about finding the cash.

“We’re not worried about the level of interest and support and funding options,” she said.

“We’ve still got all of the funding options available to us. It’s like when you buy anything, you could have debt, we can have equity, we can have shares, we can have other investors.

“We’ve had a lot of approaches, as you’d expect, with people saying, ‘I want to be part of this’”.

As for the existing ground, the club claims no decision has been made on what will happen. However, the Theatre of Dreams does not feature in any visuals within the newly launched masterplan.

If the club did decide to demolish Old Trafford, it would be by no means the only club to take that route when relocating to a new ground. Arsenal’s Highbury, West Ham’s Upton Park, and Tottenham’s White Hart Lane were all pulled down.

Any decision on the current ground would be informed by conversations with fans, Roche said.