Manchester United are planning on building a new stadium and it is not the first time the Glazers have been involved in a project of this type.
In March, Manchester United revealed stadium concept photos for a new £2 billion venue.
United fans were split by the bold design of the stadium, but it does represent an exciting new chapter in the club’s history. However, Ineos are yet to secure funding for the stadium, which is set to be completed by 2030.
Leaving Old Trafford was always going to be a controversial decision made by Ineos, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have to work closely with the Glazers for the project as the US family are still majority shareholders at United.
Glazers involved in ‘controversial’ stadium build in NFL
Alongside their ownership of Manchester United, the Glazers are also majority shareholders of NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The recent NFL report slammed the Glazers for their ownership of the American Football team, including ranking 27th in “perceived willingness to invest in the facilities”. That is certainly something United fans can relate to.
This week marks 20 years since the Glazers completed their takeover of United and The Athletic have done a deep dive into their ownership of the Buccaneers.
They look back on the “controversial” stadium project the Glazers carried out in Tampa Bay.
After taking charge of the NFL franchise, the Glazers wanted a new stadium to be constructed as it was considered “necessary to drive revenues”. Malcolm Glazer initially offered to pay for half the stadium on the condition that half of the stadium’s seat licenses were sold in advance.
However, when not enough sales were made, he threatened to relocate the team unless the authorities stumped up the rest of the cash.
As summed up by journalist Jeff Testerman: “They [Glazers] essentially held the Mayor and the County Commission in Tampa and Hillsborough County hostage. They said, ‘If you don’t pay our ransom, we’re going to take your team away.’”
After the Glazers assessed options in both Baltimore and Los Angeles, they ended up keeping the team in Tampa Bay once local politicians found funds to build the stadium.
This is the same family that will be responsible for helping to execute United’s £2 billion stadium plan.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues to defend Glazers
The Glazers were open to selling the entirety of their stake in Manchester United but eventually the deal that took place saw Ratcliffe take a minority share of 25 percent.
It means that the Ineos founder has to work side-by-side with the American family to run the Red Devils, even if the Glazers agreed to hand over sporting control.
United fans continue to protest against the Glazers to push the American family out of Old Trafford, but frustratingly Ratcliffe continues to defend them.
In an interview with The Times, Ratcliffe said: “To be fair to the Glazers, they’re really good on the commercial side.
“The people who advise me say the fans don’t want to hear it. So I’ve got to be cautious.
“I get a lot of criticism if I support the Glazers, but the fact is they’re really decent people.
READ MORE: Who are the Glazers? Meet the family of the chaos-inducing Manchester United owners
“They’re East Coast, you know — that old East Coast America, they’re very polite, they’re very civilized, they’re the nicest people on the planet.”
Given the lack of care the Glazers showed over the fanbase of the Buccaneers during their stadium project, it spells bad news for United fans.
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