It seems the decision on whether to refurbish and expand O.T. or build a new stadium is getting closer. I have no strong feelings either way, after all I'm only in the ground a couple of hours on match days. Anyway, a bit of history re. the stadium courtesy of Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium was once a true 'wonder to behold' FA CUP Final - Bradford City v Newcastle United at Old Trafford. April 26, 1911 Manchester United v Bolton. Manchester United return to Old Trafford August 1949 Sir Matt Busby showing the Minister of sport the new cantilever stand in preparation for the World Cup in 1966. February 1965 Fans getting to grips with the anti-riot fencing at Old Trafford for the first time, August 24, 1974 Crowds gathered outside Old Trafford, September 1972 Demolition of Old Trafford's Stretford End in 1992 Old Trafford's North Stand being constructed in 1996
Thx for the pics, Stret, especially the old ones. I'm a big fan of stadium pics (bought in the 80's the book "The Football Grounds of Great Britain" by Simon Inglis during a visit of the UK , which I still have). Archibald Leitch stands are easily recognisable also at Old Trafford, back then.
Picture 5 is amazing, the 'Souvenir Shop' which is now the massive 'Megastore' and of course the tiny 'Ticket Office' with its half a dozen windows, which is now an entire building standing on its own behind the NW corner of the Stretford End.
Yeah I remember the little crappy souvenir shop we had in the front of The Kop, it was barely ever open. How times have changed hey mate? Back then you'd go in these shops and they'd have a few cups/mugs, keyrings, scarfs, books and stuff. Go in them now and they're like bloody department stores.
Those cages in the 70s and 80s (shudders at the memory). OT in those days was a bastard to get to, a bastard while you were in it and God forbid if your team got a point or won, a bastard to get out of..
Those are lovely pics, but as someone who has cramped themselves into the seats for years, I'd rather have a bigger better, more comfortable stadium. Tearing down the old one won't delete the memories. You stay in the past too long, and you get stuck there. We want to be a modern evolving club, at the forefront of football, and our stadium should reflect that. That being said, statues should remain, part of the walk.
My old man was a red so he'd of love these pics Alot easier now getting away from old trafford, we won 3 0 on October and they actually let us out at full time for once, few mouthy ****ers but no issues
They won't build a new stadium. They'll probably do a few small changes to OT and that's all. More likely to redevelop around the ground with housing/hotel etc...
no matter what can't have done more damage to mancs than their recent managers! (and mancs will say owners too/instead)
So we've had the Theatre of Screams and now the Theatre of Streams, it's plain something needs to be done. Manchester United have no immediate plans to fix the roofing issues that caused mass leaks at Old Trafford on Sunday. Old Trafford failed to cope with a biblical rainstorm as the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand roof leaked and water gushed down the stands after the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal. Footage also showed rain streaming down inside the tunnel and in front of balconies that accommodate hospitality guests. United have explored the feasibility of a new roof and have detailed plans in place for a possible replacement on the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. However, club sources say it would be a multi-million-pound project with multi-year engineering work that would cause significant disruption to stadium operations. United would also incur huge operational costs. Due to co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe's preference for a rebuild of Old Trafford on the existing site, there is no significant work planned on the roof. A full rebuild could cost around £2bn according to some estimates. United sources said the water that gushed down from the east stand is not a leak but was a consequence of a huge volume of rain entering the siphonic roof drainage system so quickly that it caused it to overflow. A similar waterfall developed in the roof of the Stretford End before the Manchester derby in April 2019. In December 2021, operations director Jim Liggett dismissed the leak on the fans' forum and put it down to "the siphon system that drains surface water from the roof, not by a leak in the roof itself". Leaks from rainfall onto press desks in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand have been reported since January 2017. A United source conceded their stadium - the biggest club stadium in Britain - suffers sporadic leaks and the roof "is showing its age". There has been minimal work at Old Trafford since the Glazer family completed their takeover in May 2005. The only expansions - the north-west and north-east quadrants - were implemented in March 2006 but work was approved in February 2004. Old Trafford is not among the 10 stadiums that will host European Championship matches in the UK and Ireland in 2028. Ratcliffe has described Old Trafford as "run down" and is determined to rebuild the stadium on the existing site. Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer was invited to Old Trafford on Sunday as a guest of Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. Starmer spoke with Ratcliffe and Lord Coe, chair of the Old Trafford regeneration taskforce, before kick-off. 41mm of rain fell in the two hours after the final whistle of United's loss to Arsenal and United recorded 29mm of rainfall at Old Trafford in the whole of May 2023. The storm also caused leaks inside the terminal at the much-maligned Manchester Airport and the nearby Victoria Warehouse. Manchester United make immediate £2bn Old Trafford leaky roof decision
IDK anything about construction, surely it wont cost that much to fix the leaky roof? Also this has to be done regardless imo, even if they decided the best way forwards is a new stadium it's a 3 or 4 year long project and idt it's acceptable leaving the roof alone in its current state for another 3 or 4 years.
The 'leaky roof' is very much an exaggeration, I've never seen it leaking and we get plenty of rain here. The thunderstorm on Sunday was something of a one-off, as it says in the article above 41mm of rain fell in 2 hours I'm fairly sure they'll have an ongoing maintenance programme for the existing roofs, but I agree with the article that there's little point spending hundreds of thousands on a stadium that will be demolished in 2 - 3 years.
