PBC Today quotes Mark White on Manchester United's plans to build a new football stadium worth £2 billion

A new 100,000-seat stadium has been announced as a replacement for the Old Trafford stadium, currently owned by Manchester United F.C.

Once the new stadium has been constructed, the existing stadium will be demolished. The new stadium will be built nearby and is hoped to be completed in five years. The architects behind the new stadium have announced that the stadium will feature an umbrella design and a public plaza that is “twice the size of Trafalgar Square”, as well as three masts, called the trident, 200m high and visible from 25 miles away.

The stadium is predicted to be the largest of its kind since Stratford was transformed during the 2012 London Olympics, and will also be a part of the wider regeneration of Old Trafford, which in itself is part of a larger ongoing project to regenerate several Manchester areas, including Salford and Cambridge.

Mark White, Partner in our Real Estate team, comments on the announcement in an article by PBC Today:

There is no doubt that Old Trafford has fallen far behind other stadiums and does not offer Manchester United the opportunities available to rivals such as Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal. It has also started to act as an unfortunate metaphor for on pitch performance, which in turn can only damage the club’s brand.

"It appears that the club will be looking to develop the new stadium as part of a wider regeneration scheme and how it is financed, connectivity to Manchester city centre, train stations and the airport, and surrounding hotel, retail and dining amenities will be critical factors in whether it actually delivers the revenue upside that the club are expecting.

Read the full article in PBC Today here.