(June 22): Manchester United Plc has acquired a plot of land from a company owned by Blackstone Inc. that would allow it to build a new 100,000-seat stadium close to the club’s existing Old Trafford ground.
The deal secures “the majority of the land” needed for the project to build the UK’s biggest sporting arena and 15,000 new homes, according to a statement Monday. The 25-acre (10.117 hectares) site is about 350 metres (1,148.3 feet) north-west of the existing stadium and was acquired from Indurent, a UK warehouse landlord owned by the US alternative asset manager.
The historic venue has comfortably the league’s highest capacity at over 74,000, but its leaky roof and other deteriorating facilities have aged badly compared to Premier League clubs including crosstown rivals Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in London.
The evolution of rules that govern football teams’ spending has placed an even greater importance on clubs’ stadium capacity, with higher revenues from ticket sales needed to support ballooning wage bills as regulators seek to clamp down on wealthy owners pumping billions into loss-making clubs.
Building the new stadium is likely to cost over US$2 billion ($2.6 billion). The club is working with the local council and the Old Trafford Regeneration Mayoral Development Corporation on the plans, which it claimed will create 48,000 new local jobs and add £7 billion (US$9.3 billion) to the UK economy.
The corporation will publish its vision for the wider regeneration of the area next month, when further detail of the stadium site will be unveiled alongside a formal consultation period.
See also: Manchester United criticised over lack of board independence
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