- Man Utd's plans for a future Old Trafford site are taking place
- New state of the art home could be built near to current stadium
- Women and academy sides would inherit original ground
Manchester United are expected to keep a scaled down version of the current Old Trafford for women and academy sides if they build a brand-new state of the art stadium.
United have been exploring options for the future of Old Trafford ever since Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his partial takeover last season, with the billionaire shareholder expressing his desire for the club to preside over their own 'Wembley of the north'.
Given the engineering challenges associated with redeveloping the current stadium due to the proximity of a railway line across the back of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, as well as concerns about being able to secure an appropriate new site elsewhere in Manchester, rebuilding a new Old Trafford nearby on the same site has long been considered the ideal solution.
A new stadium would cost an estimated £2bn but could hold 100,000 fans. United have even been tipped to consider selling naming rights to bring in revenue to help raise capital, with Qualcomm, parent company of new principal shirt sponsor Snapdragon, stating an interest.
But rather than demolish the existing Old Trafford, which has stood on the site in some form since 1910, The Guardian writes that United would keep it as a permanent home for the club's women's and academy sides. In that scenario, the stadium would be stripped back to a 30,000-seat venue, but would keep elements of the club's storied history – including the only surviving part of the original ground from over a century ago: the old player's tunnel at the halfway line.
The Munich clock and tribute, remembering the victims of the 1958 disaster, as well as statues of Sir Matt Busby, Sir Alex Ferguson and the iconic 1960s 'Trinity' could also remain where they are.
A new stadium might take as long as six years to build, but Old Trafford could still be used while the construction project is ongoing. The considerable amount of land that United own around the current stadium is used predominantly for parking, with some outside catering and several office buildings.
As it stands, United use Leigh Sports Village in the borough of Wigan on Greater Manchester's western outskirts as a primary home for their women and Under-23 teams.
It is a strong venue, holding up to 12,000 at full capacity that makes it one of the best stadiums in regular use in the WSL and Premier League 2. But LSV has drawbacks too and otherwise suffers from its challenging location, not easily accessible via public transport, and with limited parking capacity.
A permanent home at a reduced-capacity Old Trafford, significantly more central and close to far more major transport links, would be a huge boost for United's women in particular, with previous attendances for WSL games there typically between 20,000 and 30,000, and a record of just under 44,000. The biggest crowd drawn to Leigh so far has been 8,312 for the visit of Arsenal last October.
Regular fans have tended to criticise the flatter atmosphere in previous Old Trafford games, compared to the more intimate setting of Leigh Sports Village.
