Mayor of Manchester: No Public Funds to be Used for Renovations at Old Trafford Stadium for Now

The Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, has confirmed that public funds will not be used for renovations at Old Trafford Stadium for the time being.

Burnham has put forward grand plans for the redevelopment of the stadium, along with the creation of a “mixed-use” community that includes apartment buildings, shopping centers, and a new public transport station. The club’s owners are currently considering whether to proceed with the construction of a brand new £2 billion stadium with a capacity of 100,000 spectators or to redevelop the existing stadium.

However, the freight rail terminus behind the stadium needs to be relocated to make room for expansion, and Burnham suggested that some taxpayer money could be invested in the infrastructure required to move the stadium to Merseyside.

Old Trafford currently has a capacity of 74,310 spectators and has been Manchester United’s home ground since 1910. Although the funding for building or renovating the stadium will be borne by the club, the mayor indicated that in the future, some taxpayer money might be invested in the infrastructure of the new community to help establish transportation links.

Burnham is currently calling on the government to fund the plan to connect the Parkside freight terminal under construction on the border between St. Helens and Wigan to the West Coast Main Line, which could cost hundreds of millions of pounds. At the Liverpool Labour Party conference, he said, “You have the potential to fix the railway system in Northwest England.”

Burnham added that transporting goods to Parkside and out of Manchester city center “can solve problems for passengers.” He attended the meeting alongside Gary Neville, a former Manchester United and England star, who is a member of a special task force established by the club to evaluate the best options for Old Trafford’s future. Neville stated that he “doesn’t care” whether it’s about building a new stadium or refurbishing the existing one; what matters most is that Manchester United eventually has a world-class stadium. Relatively speaking, he is more interested in the overall planning of the surrounding area.