United appoint consultants to plan Old Trafford redevelopment

Manchester United have appointed a team of leading consultants to plan a future redevelopment of the club’s Old Trafford home.

The club’s 74,140-capacity stadium, the largest in the Premier League, has not been developed since the 2005-06 season, when 8,000 additional seats were added to the iconic venue.

However, United have announced they will work with the same consultants who contributed to the design of Tottenham’s new state-of-the-art stadium, which opened in 2019.

“Manchester United has appointed a team of leading consultants to begin work on creating a masterplan for the redevelopment of Old Trafford,” read a statement on the club’s official website.

“The team will be led by Legends International and Populous, both of which have a wealth of stadium development experience from across the globe.

“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.”

The deterioration of Old Trafford has been a focus of fan-led protests against the club’s ownership in recent seasons, with United great Gary Neville among those to back a complete rebuild of the stadium last month, suggesting the club’s facilities have “fallen behind” those of their rivals.