New Manchester United Stadium? Plans set to be unveiled
What's the story
In a surprising move, Manchester United have announced plans to build a new stadium next to the iconic Old Trafford.
The club hopes to create "the world's greatest football stadium" with a whopping 1,00,000 seats.
The ambitious project is part of a multi-billion-pound plan to revamp the Old Trafford area and is expected to contribute £7.3 billion to the economy while creating around 92,000 jobs.
Financial challenges
Club's minority owner stresses necessity of job cuts
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club's minority owner, stressed the need for recent job cuts and changes in employee benefits.
Without them, Manchester United "would have run out of cash by the end of 2025," he said.
Notably, the new stadium project will cost around £2 billion.
The announcement comes after a series of redundancies at United and changes in employee benefits.
Stadium issues
Old Trafford's condition prompts redevelopment
The iconic Old Trafford has been plagued with growing maintenance problems, such as a leaking roof.
The club has tasked Lord Norman Foster's group, Foster + Partners, with designing the new stadium.
Concept images released feature three spires and an "umbrella" mesh covering.
Ratcliffe said the current stadium has served brilliantly for 115 years but has fallen behind of late. As per Reuters, the stadium hasn't been revamped since 2006.
Future plans
New stadium to create 'miniature city of the future'
Foster explained there will be a public plaza "twice the size of Trafalgar Square," with an aim to create a "completely walkable, mixed-use miniature city of the future."
The new stadium's increased capacity will make it the joint-largest stadium in Europe, along with the new Camp Nou.
Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest managers, backed this decision, saying Manchester United should always look for the best in everything they do, including its stadium.