Manchester United start plans for Old Trafford redevelopment

Manchester United announced today that they have appointed Legends International and Populous to lead a team that will be tasked with creating a masterplan for the redevelopment of Old Trafford.

Architects Populous and management consultants Legends International will work jointly on plans to update the nation’s largest club stadium with the aim of increasing capacity even further.

Both companies worked on the development of Tottenham’s 63,000-seater stadium, which opened in 2019.

A statement on United’s website read:

“Work will begin immediately on developing options for Old Trafford and studying their feasibility, with the aim of significantly enhancing the fan experience.

“Fans will be at the heart of the process, starting with a meeting between the consultants and the Manchester United Fans’ Advisory Board later this month.”

Later this month, a meeting between the team of consultants and United’s fans’ advisory board will be held to discuss the options in more detail. United has also appointed KSS to develop a masterplan for an expanded, state-of-the-art training facility for its men’s, women’s and academy teams.

United announced plans to upgrade Old Trafford at the end of last year, although so far no details on the scope or budget of the plans have been confirmed.

Old Trafford is the largest club stadium in England but United has fallen behind its rivals in recent years as Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham moved to new homes and Liverpool carried out extensive redevelopment work at Anfield.

Global architecture firm Populous designed Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, which opened in 2019, while its other projects in England include Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and Wembley. In December, Populous saw off competition from Manica/Sportium to land the contract to design a new stadium for Italian Serie A clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Premium experiences company Legends International has a client base that includes Real Madrid, SoFi Stadium and Allegiant Stadium. It is also working with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, alongside Populous, as the team moves forward with plans for a new $1.4bn stadium.