Manchester United will need to spend billions in order to build their 100,000-seater stadium.
The latest news of Manchester United securing land near Old Trafford reaffirms plans to build a state-of-the-art stadium as the club’s new long-term home.
United want the new stadium built by 2035, but it won’t come cheap. The new stadium is expected to cost over £2 billion, although some estimations suggest that figure is extremely ambitious.
Funding for the stadium is yet to be secured, and there are understandable concerns about how it may impact the club’s transfer budget.
Man Utd have FINALLY acquired the land to build the new stadium – What is your reaction?
Man United’s transfer budget will be hit by stadium spending
Reports this summer claim United have a £250m transfer budget to strengthen Michael Carrick’s squad.
That is a result of last season’s third-place finish, a return to the Champions League, and Ineos’ cost-cutting measures.
But building a new stadium is not a cost-cutting measure, quite the opposite. As quoted by Reuters, United CEO Omar Berrada has already admitted that the transfer budget will be affected.
“We don’t want to inhibit our ability to invest in the team, for us to continue being competitive while we are building a new stadium,” Berrada said.
“There are various ways around that; one of the things we are looking at is to shorten the construction timelines so we can have a new stadium within five years, that’s our ambition.”
Berrada clearly wants the stadium to be built quickly, but his comments also suggest that the budget will be affected during those five years of construction.
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How other Premier League clubs were impacted by stadium builds
United are following a handful of Premier League rivals who have moved stadium in recent years.
Tottenham built their new stadium for £1 billion, while Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium was completed for around £750 million.
West Ham also moved from Upton Park to the London Stadium, but they did not pay for the construction of their 60,000-capacity ground.
Despite Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy claiming, as quoted by ESPN, that their transfer budget won’t be affected by their new stadium, the figures suggest otherwise.
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Tottenham’s spending fell behind their ‘Big Six’ rivals and they have now suffered consecutive 17th-place finishes in the Premier League.
Everton’s atmosphere has dropped at their new stadium, but their spending actually increased. Context is important, though, as the Merseyside outfit benefited from new investors and owners.
The impact of United’s stadium will realistically come down to how the stadium is funded. If more debt is piled on, fans can expect a decrease in transfer spend.
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