CEO of New Stadium Development at Manchester United, Collette Roche, has addressed a major concern involving the Old Trafford regeneration project.
Location confirmed
Earlier this week, United confirmed the location for their proposed 100,000-seater stadium.
The new ground, which is expected to be the largest in the UK, will be constructed about 350 metres north-west of Old Trafford, in Stretford, between John Gilbert Way, Wharfside Way and Europa Way.
Last month, United broke the news that they had acquired 25 acres of land in the area. The new stadium is set to be part of a wider sports-led regeneration of Trafford Wharfside.
The project is estimated to create 48,000 local jobs and 15,000 new homes, while also injecting £7.3bn annually to the UK economy.
Concerns have been raised that the planned construction, a project that could span several years, might disrupt Old Trafford’s operations and the team’s ability to play there.
However, Roche has made it clear that there will be minimal to no problems.
Fears eased
Appearing on the latest episode of the Inside Carrington podcast, Roche said, “We can’t build a new stadium at the expense of disrupting the football today. So actually, the way that we’ve designed and developed this whole project has had that in mind.”
“Where we’ve decided to locate the stadium, which is further away from the current Old Trafford, that’s been really important. We don’t want distractions, we don’t want to be playing matches in a building site.”
She added, “It was really, really important [to minimise disruption to Old Trafford] because we got asked that question at the start.”
“I mean, even deciding to have a new stadium, because when you redevelop a current one, we would have had to reduce the capacity; some fans wouldn’t have been able to go to the matches.”
“The players would have had the changing rooms disrupted, and we know how important that matchday routine is to our players, so we didn’t want to interfere with that.”
Roche offered reassurance that, while a brand-new arena is part of the vision, the club is determined to retain as much of Old Trafford and United’s storied heritage as they possibly can.
“We all know we’re so proud of being one of the richest heritage clubs ever, and we can’t lose that just because we’re moving a stadium. The fact we’re on Old Trafford still is good. We’re only 350 metres away from the current site, that’s really good.”
“And this is where we really need to understand through the next consultation with the fans, about what is it that’s really important that they want to take. They’ve told me, for example, the Munich clock, the tunnel’s important, can we think about how we can use part of the pitch? What are we going to do with Old Trafford that we’re sat in today?”
She committed to holding consultations specifically aimed at making sure every voice is heard and everyone feels a part of what’s to come.
Featured image Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
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