Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada will soon be involved in making one of the most important decisions in the club’s history.
That decision, of course, is whether to stick or twist. To build a new 100,000-seater stadium or to stay at Old Trafford and renovate.
It has been a hot topic ever since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover was completed last year, with the British billionaire immediately beginning a conversation around the future of United’s stadium.
A new stadium would cost around £2bn but would future-proof the club and drastically increase revenue with finance expert Adam Williams explaining United could earn £230m per season from a new stadium.
However, leaving Old Trafford would be a highly controversial move so Ineos surveyed supporters and United fans were 52 percent in favour of a new stadium. 31 percent voted to refurbish Old Trafford while 17 percent voted that they were unsure.
When work could begin on new Man United stadium
Ineos have moved quickly to put a plan in place with a taskforce assembled to assess all options around the stadium.
It was reported in October that work could begin on a new stadium next summer.
Early estimations suggest a new rebuild would take “roughly three years”, meaning 2028 would be the earliest completion date.
However, that would require a decision to be made in the next few months and even though it has been suggested that United chiefs will their final choice towards the end of 2024, club CEO Omar Berrada has now hinted at a delay.
Omar Berrada hints at delay to Man United stadium decision
United published their Q1 financial results on Tuesday where the club revealed a full-year revenue guidance of £650-£670 million.
Alongside that £670m revenue news, Berrada published a comment on the club, the change of management and the work behind the scenes on infrastructure.
In reference to the stadium, Berrada said: “Our renovation of the Carrington Training Centre is progressing well, while the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force continues its work.
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“Once it has delivered its recommendations, we will then take some time to digest them and evaluate all our options in the upcoming year.”
A decision in late 2024 no longer seems to be the plan, with Berrada hinting that the stadium decision will run well into 2025.
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