August 4 – ‘The Wembley of the North’, aka the new Old Trafford, has taken an unexpected turn with the owners of the stadium site, Freightliner, holding the club to ransom over the valuation of the land required for the renovation of the surrounding land.
Freightliner has said they are willing to move from the rail freight terminal, which is located in Trafford Park, but they want £400 million. However, the club’s valuation falls way short of the asking price at £40 to 50 million.
United minority shareholder and chief sporting operations officer Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told Freightliner’s parent company, Brookfield, that they are unwilling to accept that price. A source said Freightliner “have United over a barrel.”
The club’s view is that Freightliner would only receive what would be a significant windfall if they are willing to reduce the asking price.
When unveiling designs for the Old Trafford master plan, produced by Foster and Partners in March, Ratcliffe set an ambitious target of completing what he described as a five-year build by 2030.
United estimate the cost of the project at £4.2 billion, but say it would bring huge social and economic benefits to the local community and wider region, including 92,000 jobs, more than 17,000 new homes and attracting an extra 1.8 million visitors annually.
The cost for the stadium has been projected to be about £2 billion, although given the tensioned roof alone is likely to cost £300 million, industry sources say £3 billion is a more realistic budget. Freightliner’s demands for £400 million could result in the redevelopment being significantly over budget from the start. Given the belt-tightening currently underway in Manchester, this standoff could significantly impact the timeline and United’s ability to compete in the transfer market as they look to again change their playing squad.
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