Man Utd: Ratcliffe wants to make Old Trafford the ‘Wembley of the North’ in government-funded rebuild

Joe Williams
Man Utd stadium Old Trafford
An aerial view of Old Trafford.

Incoming Man Utd investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe intends to turn Old Trafford into the ‘Wembley of the North’ and could apply for government funding to help with the renovations.

Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Man Utd has moved a step closer following a key vote on Monday.

The British billionaire is acquiring 25 per cent of the Class B shares held by the Glazer family – which carry 10 times the voting rights of Class A shares – as part of his investment.

Existing shareholders voted at an extraordinary general meeting on Monday to approve a special resolution, under which the Class B shares would not convert to Class A shares when they were transferred to Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe, who announced on Christmas Eve that he had agreed a deal to buy 25 per cent of Man Utd,  is also purchasing up to 25 per cent of Class A shares and investing 300million US dollars (£239m) into the club’s infrastructure. The deal is also subject to Premier League approval.

Ratcliffe will take control of football operations once the deal is done and has the first option to buy more Class B shares from the Glazers, should they decide to sell more.

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One of the first things Ratcliffe wants to do is improve the infrastructure at Man Utd with the Daily Telegraph claiming he ‘wants Manchester United to create the “Wembley of the North” under ambitious plans for a spectacular new Old Trafford’.

In an effort to fund the rebuild of the stadium, Ratcliffe ‘could yet seek to lobby the UK Government for funds amid Westminster’s “Levelling Up” pledges’.

A source told the newspaper: “He feels the club need an absolute state-of-the-art, knock-it-out-of-the-park, ‘wow’ stadium.

“And we feel there’s a strong argument for the country having a top-class major venue in the North – a Wembley of the North.”

Ratcliffe is convinced that supporters would be in favour of building a brand new stadium if built on the land surrounding their current Old Trafford home.

Sources added: “The spiritual home is important. We think the fans would be quite happy to accept a brand new stadium if we stay where we are.”

A complete new build of Old Trafford could be the best solution with managing director of architectural design firm Populous, Chris Lee, giving his view on potential redevelopment: “The building is reaching the end of its natural life; the cabling, the electricity supplies, everything is nearing its sell by date.”