The new Manchester United stadium designed by Foster Partners will transform the entire Old Trafford area. The harbour district will be transformed into a modern residential and commercial district with extensive public transport and green space. A centrally located sports facility will become the new home of the ‘Red Devils’, while the run-down 115-year-old Old Trafford stadium will remain in place. The project involves building a modular facility with a large canopy covering the nearby plazas.
A well-deserved retirement
While the age of Old Trafford doesn’t even come close to being the oldest stadium in the UK, it has to be said that 115 years is a long time. Of course, Manchester United’s stadium has undergone many renovations, but its current form and capacity are an outlier compared to the most modern sports venues in the world. The answer to this problem has been suggested by star architect Lord Norman Foster, who himself hails from the Manchester area.
The idea of a new, larger stadium had already been floated in the early 2000s, but the lack of a concrete plan and adequate funds in the city’s coffers hindered the investment. After businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought out almost a third of the club, the city announced a plan to regenerate the whole area. In turn, studio Foster Partners recently presented the first visualisations of the stadium.
The three-pronged marquee
With a capacity of up to 100,000, the new stadium will rival the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, the largest in Europe. However, the most eye-catching elements will be the three masts that will span the huge canopy. The masts allude to the trident present in the club’s coat of arms, and the tallest of them will soar to 200 metres. This height will make the new stadium the tallest in Manchester.
A white tented roof will cover not only the stadium, but also the huge space in front of the venue. The square is set to be twice the size of London’s Trafalgar Square, meaning it will exceed 24,000sq m in size. The overflowing canopy is expected to spread the cheers of fans far beyond the stadium. It is worth mentioning that the roof is to collect rainwater and use photovoltaic technology. You can read about a similar solution in stadium architecture HERE.
Temple of football
Visualisations show the green areas surrounding the stadium, as well as the balconies and footbridges that will be filled with tens of thousands of fans. The city also plans to improve passenger rail traffic to the new district, which will involve the redevelopment of the surrounding station. According to the mayor, the whole district is a ten-year construction plan, but the stadium itself can be built in just five years. Lord Norman Foster wants to use the nearby canal to transport prefabricated modules directly to the construction site. The stadium is to consist of 160 such modules.
The architect stresses that the new stadium is intended to be a sacred place for Manchester United fans from all over the world. The new venue will feature openness rather than a sea of isolating parking spaces. The global attraction will aid the development of the post-industrial city, which has been growing rapidly in recent years. We will still have to wait for more information, but the existing visuals look promising. The only question for the future remains regarding how residents will cope with the huge roar of the stadium.
Visualisation source: Foster Partners
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