2024-02-23 16:46:49
Can Manchester United use public funds to rebuild Old Trafford?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, now Manchester United’s co-owner, said it would be a “no-brainer” to build a new stadium for them following a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) deal to buy a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.
Ratcliffe, 71, has discussed plans to replace 90,000 seats on the same Old Trafford site, while also exploring the idea of modernizing the existing stadium. He estimates the refurbishment will cost £1bn, while new construction will cost twice that – and he wants the UK government to be part of those talks.
Ratcliffe, who founded the Ineos petrochemical empire, said on Wednesday: “People in the north of England pay their taxes the same way people in the south pay their taxes.” “But where is the national football stadium? It’s in the south (Wembley, northwest London). Where is the National Rugby Stadium? It’s in the south (Twickenham, southwest London). Where is the National Tennis Stadium? It’s in the south (Wimbledon, southwest London). Where is the National Concert Stadium located? It’s (or two), it’s in the south (Greenwich, south-east London). Where is the Olympic village? It’s in the south (Stratford, East London).
“All this talk regarding ‘leveling up’ and the Northern Power – where is the stadium in the North? “How many Champions Leagues have the North West won and how many Champions Leagues have London won?”
These comments come less than a week following United welcomed Trafford Council’s plans that will see the area surrounding their stadium renovated. The ambitious ‘Trafford Wharfside Masterplan’ proposals, which might become a reality over the next 15 years if approved, will see United’s land at the heart of 5,000 new homes, improved transport links and additional developments.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Getty)
Having visited Old Trafford and Carrington, the club’s training base on the south-west suburbs of Manchester, several times in recent months, Ratcliffe is thinking big – but will the UK government open up the public purse to fund the stadium project?
Proposals drawn up by the master planning firm and the stadium engineering firm regarding the stadium have been on the table for some time.
But the announcement of the strategic review in November 2022, with the Glazer family, United’s majority owners, realizing they might not afford redevelopment or construction, meant everything was put on hold. Now that Ratcliffe’s investment is official, there is renewed enthusiasm.
Ratcliffe has already met with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and senior figures at Trafford Council, including Sarah Todd, chief executive, and Richard Rowe, director of the company.
Ratcliffe’s first meetings with key local stakeholders were aimed at gaining a better understanding of their vision for Greater Manchester and Trafford; To see if the club might fit into those plans. Now that this has become clear following the announcement of the “Trafford Wharfside Masterplan” last week, such talks are expected to intensify.
It emerged on Wednesday that Gary Neville, the former United and England defender turned TV football pundit, is set to be part of the club’s plans to revamp Old Trafford.
Neville owns a hotel and an academy, both in the area surrounding the stadium, and will participate in the newly appointed committee that will oversee the various options.
“Manchester United needs a stadium worthy of one of the biggest clubs in the world,” he said on Wednesday. “Old Trafford might have been like that 20 years ago, but it certainly isn’t like that today. “There is a broader conversation with the community regarding whether you might use a more ambitious project on the site as a catalyst for the regeneration of the Old Trafford area.”
“In an ideal world, there is no need to think, a stadium in the north, which would be a world-class stadium, where England might play and the FA Cup final might be held, and it is not limited to the south of England.”
Manchester United needs a bigger stadium (Getty)
This amount remains on hold until the plans are formalized, but Ratcliffe is already prepared to commit £245 million of his fortune.
If it goes the comprehensive rebuilding route, United will seek to use a mix of public money and private investment to fund the development. However, with Ratcliffe being a billionaire now living in Monaco, a known tax haven, going to the UK government would raise eyebrows.
Speaking to the British newspaper City AM, Tracey Crouch, a member of Parliament in the ruling Conservative government in the United Kingdom and a former sports minister whose recommendations led to plans to establish an independent football regulatory body, condemned the idea of United obtaining public funds to finance either matter. Construction or redevelopment of the stadium.
“Sir Jim Ratcliffe knew what he was doing when he bought Manchester United,” Crouch said. “Old Trafford may need to be upgraded to today’s standards, but funding should not come out of taxpayers’ pockets for the billionaires who own the club.”
Realistically, if United, Trafford Council or the Department of Settlement, Housing and Communities went and said they wanted money to improve or replace Old Trafford, it would be unlikely to succeed – the UK government would not hand over the money to Manchester United, the company that It generated revenues of £650m for the year ending 30 June 2023, enabling them to build a new stadium.
But if concerned stakeholders go to the department with a large-scale regeneration project, such as the one announced by Trafford Council on February 16, they will be heard. Although funds have been largely allocated, there is potential to provide more through alternative financial packages.
One avenue the club might try – likely in cooperation with Trafford Council – is to seek tax breaks from the treasury, and they might also get help from the authorities in other ways.
“Manchester United have their own resources, and there is not much benefit for the government to step in with a subsidy to help with that,” Anthony Britsch, associate director of the Urban Improvement Authority’s Cities Centre, told The Athletic.
“But you can make it easier for Manchester United by giving guarantees that they can go ahead with some demolitions. “Ensuring flexibility in how land is used, along with commitments to improving transport links, is something local leaders may want to do, even if they don’t.” “I don’t necessarily want to put money in the pot.”
Old Trafford stadium stands awaiting expansion (Getty)
The rebuilding and redevelopment process is still on the table; So there are no guarantees. The only option off the table is to move United from the Trafford area to another location.
This leaves only two viable ways forward: redeveloping Old Trafford in stages – similar to what Liverpool did with Anfield – or building a new ground on the current site.
They might build a new stadium next to Old Trafford and stay in their current home until the new stadium is ready. As for renewal, in a similar way to Liverpool, they can continue to play there while developing.
However, one consideration, among many others, is that the refurbishment will hurt matchday income as capacity will need to be reduced while some of the stands are developed.
This is something United are aware of and will form part of their decision-making process when it comes to making the final decision.
It is more common for new stadiums in America to be supported by the state in question, through tax-exempt municipal bonds, grants, and, among other initiatives, long-term tax breaks.
The Glazer family also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and relied on state funds to build the franchise’s Raymond James Stadium, which opened in 1998. After initial plans for a new stadium, which would have seen their revenues decline, were rejected, the Glazer family threatened to move The team goes elsewhere.
Patriarch Malcolm Glazer, who died in 2014, has committed to paying half the cost of the new stadium on the condition that fans pay a 50,000 deposit on season tickets for 10 years. When these numbers declined, Glazer withdrew his proposal to fund 50 percent of the project. This means that the new Buccaneers stadium was built entirely with public funds.
But unlike in the US, the Glazers and Ratcliffe are threatening to move Manchester United to another part of the UK; So if their attempts to receive taxpayer money are rejected, there is little they can do regarding it.
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