The Cheap Manchester United soccer shirts announced the creation of a working group for the regeneration of Old Trafford that will explore the construction of a new state-of-the-art stadium, including how to finance a project that the club admits it cannot carry out alone.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's largest single shareholder, intends to build a home for the club on the site of Old Trafford. Sebastian Coe will chair the working group, which is tasked with regenerating the area and looking for strategic partnerships. Other members include Gary Neville, the former United captain, and Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Ratcliffe said: "This could be a major regeneration project for an area of Greater Manchester that has played a key role in Britain's industrial history but needs new investment to thrive again. The North West of England has a higher concentration of major soccer clubs than anywhere else in the world, but we don't have a stadium on the scale of Wembley, the Nou Camp or the Bernabéu. We won't be able to change that on our own, which is why this working group is so important to help us seize this once-in-a-century opportunity."
Although United will not be seeking grants, a wide range of options will be explored, including public-private partnerships. Lord Coe, the chairman of World Athletics, who chaired the organizing committee for the London 2012 Olympic Games, said "Throughout my career in sport, I have seen the potential for stadiums to become focal points for strong communities and catalysts for social and economic development. This is what happened with the stadiums we built in east London for the 2012 Olympic Games, and we should have built a project of similar scale and ambition in the north of England by now. I'm honored to have this opportunity to share my experience in support of this tremendously exciting project."
The working group also includes representatives from Camisas soccer cheap kids Manchester United Supporters' Trust (Must), having already consulted 30,000 supporters.
Neville said: "I'm incredibly fortunate to have had the privilege of playing hundreds of games at Old Trafford, and no one can take those fantastic memories away from me. But Old Trafford has evolved throughout its history and it's clear that we've reached a point where it has to change again to ensure that Manchester United has a world-class stadium to match the greatest club in the world.
I also want the same for the surrounding community. Old Trafford should be a stadium that the whole of Greater Manchester can be proud of and be a catalyst for sustainable, cohesive growth in an area of the city that has been neglected for too long."
Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of Must, said: "It is encouraging to see the emphasis being placed on supporter consultation, including representation on this panel, and it is exciting to see the vision and ambition behind this project."
