Club owners, the Glazers, had entertained the prospect of adding a further 15,000 seats to the Theatre of Dreams, but the project has been deemed cost prohibitive Manchester United have decided not to pursue plans to expand Old Trafford to an over 90,000 capacity stadium. The Premier League leaders' ground currently holds 75,700 spectators, but club owners the Glazers have been keen to add a further 15,000 seats in order to add revenue streams. A series of studies have been conducted in recent years to explore the possibility of enhancing the Theatre of Dreams by extending the South stand over a railway line which backs on to their home. But adding an extra tier to the South stand would cost an estimated â¬37 million, with senior sources revealing the project would be cost prohibitive in the current financial climate, despite cheaper building costs being available to them, due to structural issues involved in enhancing the existing build. Despite topping the table and comfortably securing progression to the Champions League last 16, Sir Alex Ferguson's side have seen a downturn in numbers from supporters in general, owing to the economic recession. Goal.com revealed in the summer how the club were forced to mail fans to offer season tickets while redoubling their commercial efforts, with big business more conscious of forking out for corporate facilities. http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3919...ns-to-expand-old-trafford?source=breakingnews ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- gutted tbh
Can't say I'm disappointed. Sitting in the top tier of the North Stand is **** so it would no doubt be just as **** in the top tier of an extended South Stand. Limited atmosphere, which is understandable as the air is thin up there, and **** view, may as well watch subbuteo.
That top tier on the other stand gives me vertigo just looking at the ****er. Great ground though OT, my favourite away & the best in the country for corporate imo.
Anyone go to the Olympic stadium this summer? That's an incredible venue. I hope West Ham do it justice.
It's a national disgrace that they're being gifted it for a paltry rental & a tiny slice of the alteration costs. Tottenham must be fuming given how much they're going to have to invest to get the same end result, it stinks.
I don't really know the ins and outs of the deal. If they're renting it are they getting all the match day revenue or are they on some kind of management contract whereby they have to pay a portion of the profits to their landlord? The whole Olympic Park is amazing. No idea what they're going to do with it. No offence to West Ham but I'd prefer to remember the Olympic Stadium as the home of the 2012 Olympics/UK Athletics, not just another football ground.
This. Whilst it'd be great to have a stadium bigger than Wembley, not only would the atmosphere get worse, but the pitch would also probably get even worse due to lack of light.
They'll be paying £2.5M per annum to lease it & there'll be a deal in place regarding sharing non-football revenues e.g. concerts etc. However, they're not only getting a stadium that cost £429M to build for £0, their proposal was that the public purse should collect £145M of the projected £160M it'll cost to install retractable seating where the track is & a roof! Their share as it stands would be a ridiculous £15M. (albeit that's likely to increase). So WHU are basically going to end up with a fantastic, iconic, 60K stadium for absolute peanuts.
I do wonder why LOCOG even want a football club as an anchor tenant when they have to pay so much to get them in there. Seems like it would make more financial and sporting sense to just leave it as an athletics stadium, and maybe allow local athletics clubs to train there whilst getting all the cash from concerts etc. I think LOCOG is so worried it will be branded a 'white elephant' they are desperate for any regular use no matter what the cost.
My six pennorth, for what it's worth. The Old Trafford atmosphere has been **** for the last five or so years and adding another 15k will not help. Unless of course in doing so they create a standing area at one end where some decent noise can be generated. We would never sell out 90k week in week out so what is the point? Leave it as it is.
I'm sure you're about right there. They're sackless if they allow the porn kings to dictate that they should pay for the alterations though, WHU should be paying every penny of the alteration costs, as even at £160M with a £2.5M annual lease, it'd be as cheap as chips. They're taking the piss with their ceiling of £15M max. I still fancy Barry Hearn to come back at the 11th hour & chuck a bomb in tbh, gotta love old Barry.
Corporate facilities there are second only to the Emirates. OT is also second to the Emirates for lack of atmos and number of plastics
all big clubs with big stadiums are like that .. if we want to get better financially that will be great way to even distance ourself from any other club in england
go and support a proper club PLS how we can take you seriously when you support a rich man toy !! he made you look liek a joke ,.. and reading your comments recently, you are becoming a joke and a laughing stock
To do that they need to actually fill these seats. Aside from a standing area here's another idea, they make the capacity 90k then they make the very top tier of each stand with the not so great views cheap. Make them £20 a quid a game to people who will go to the ticket office and buy them on a first come first served basis. Let some local people who are on their arse money financially into the ground instead of ****ing tourists. Never happen though.
