Manchester United Will Officially Leave Old Trafford And Move To New Stadium

Manchester United's new stadium will have a capacity of 100,000 seats (doc. Foster+Partners).

JAKARTA - Manchester United have officially announced plans to leave Old Trafford, their home for more than 100 years, and move to a new stadium.

The proposal was launched on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, and has been backed by former Sir Alex Ferguson's manager.

The new home of the Red Devils has a capacity of 100,000 seats, which is proposed to surpass Wembley as the largest stadium in Great Britain.

This proposal follows recommendations made by the Old Trafford regeneration task force - which was formed more than a year ago - and a series of supporters' consultations.

Another option there is to rebuild the existing stadium, but the 20-time Premier League champion has chosen to move to a new home. The club didn't have to play a single game outside Old Trafford until the work was done.

"Today marks the start of a very exciting journey towards the realization of the world's greatest football stadium, in the midst of a regenerated Old Trafford."

"Our stadium has now served us very well over the past 115 years, but still lost to the best arena in the world of sport."

"By building in addition to existing locations, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, as well as create a truly sophisticated stadium, which changes the fan experience to just a few steps from our historic home," said one of the club's owners, Sir Jim Radcliffe, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

Old Trafford, which has a capacity of 76,000 after its last expansion in 2006, opened in 1910. Manchester United plans to build a new stadium in the same location in Manchester with a potential capacity of 100,000, making it the largest stadium in the UK.

Meanwhile, plans to turn Old Trafford into a home for the women's team and the youth team have been explored, but have finally been rejected.

The new stadium will be built more widely, which could include the construction of 17,000 new houses.

Ferguson, Manchester United's former longest-serving coach, said the club had been "dare" in deciding to move away from Old Trafford.

"Manchester United must always try to do their best in everything he does, on and off the pitch, and that includes the stadium we play in."

"Old Trafford keeps so many special memories for me personally, but we have to be brave and take advantage of this opportunity to build a new home, which is appropriate for the future, where new history can be made," said Ferguson.

Manchester United wants the new stadium to be part of a wider project to regenerate the Old Trafford area around it, which it says will be worth 7.3 billion pounds to the UK economy.

The UK government has voiced its support for the project although details on how the project will be funded are not yet known.

British architect Norman Foster has been appointed as a designer.

The announcement of the new stadium comes days after thousands of Manchester United fans marched in protests against club ownership in the face of cost cuts, rising ticket prices, and continued failures on the pitch.

Manchester United are mostly owned by the Glazer family, which also has Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After investing, Ratcliffe promised to return the once dominant club back to the top of European football after more than a decade since they last won the Premier League.

However, his first year in charge of operations has been volatile. Manchester United went through their worst Premier League season last year and will soon reach their lowest point of the season, with the team currently slumping in the bottom half of the standings.

Apart from that, Wembley is currently the largest stadium in the UK, with a capacity of 90,000, and is home to the England National Team.

Twickenham, which is home to the national rugby team, hosts 82,500 spectators.

Old Trafford is the country's largest special football stadium, but this stadium is out of date when compared to stadiums like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, which regularly hosts NFL matches.