Manchester United are at an important moment their 146-year history. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival as a 25% shareholder sees the British billionaire also take over sporting operations at the club and with it a shift in control rarely witnessed over the last century and a half.
Although the Glazer family retain overall majority ownership, Ratcliffe and his INEOS contingent will be calling the shots when it comes to what fans value most – the football. That covers the players and football staff, but also looks set to address the future of Old Trafford too.
In a report by the Daily Telegraph, Ratcliffe is described by a source close to him as wanting Old Trafford to become a “Wembley of the north”. Right now, it has lost its sparkle.
United moved into Old Trafford in 1910, the club’s third home since being formed as Newton Heath in 1878. Bank Street was where they had played since 1893, through near bankruptcy and the name change to ‘Manchester United’, winning a maiden First Division title in 1908. But it was that success which prompted the change, with owner John Henry Davies considering Bank Street unfit.
Famed architect Archibald Leitch, whose fingerprints are all over British football’s oldest iconic stadiums – Anfield, Villa Park, Stamford Bridge and Hampden Park, included – was tasked with the design and Old Trafford was built on a wedge of land in the heavily industrialised Trafford Park area of Manchester, tucked between the Bridgewater Canal and the Cheshire Lines Railway.
It has undergone several renovations since, notably in the wake of the Second World War when major damage was inflicted during bombing raids targeting nearby factories. The 1990 Taylor Report later saw all top flight stadia become all-seater, while a demand for tickets as United dominated the early Premier League era resulted in the North Stand being torn down and rebuilt to increase capacity. The larger glass-fronted East Stand – the famous facade as accessed from Sir Matt Busby Way – was opened in 2000, followed by an additional tier on the West Stand (Stretford End). By 2006, both quadrants adjacent to the North Stand were added to, bringing total capacity to more than 76,000. But no major work has been carried out in the 18 years since.
Once the leading and most prestigious club stadium in the country even hosting several early 20th century FA Cup finals before the original Wembley was built in 1923, the Theatre of Dreams is in need of modernisation. Its omission as a…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…