Jim Ratcliffe, who has taken over the sporting management of Manchester United, is determined to get to work on the development of Old Trafford.

‘A joint task force has been formed to regenerate the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester,’ the club announced on its official website on Monday. The centerpiece of the project is the development of a world-class soccer stadium. Chaired by Sebastian Coe, former head of the London 2012 Olympic Organizing Committee, the task force will assess the feasibility of a new stadium of national significance that will not only provide a modern home for Manchester United, but also host international matches and finals,” the official statement read.

Ratcliffe took control of the club’s sporting operations in December of last year when he acquired a 25 percent stake in the club. Since taking over, Ratcliffe has called it his “dream stadium,” but has been very vocal about his desire to transform the dilapidated Old Trafford. In fact, 토토사이트 he announced upon taking over that he would invest £237 million of his fortune in developing the club’s infrastructure.The Telegraph reported last month that “Ratcliffe wants United to create a ‘Wembley Stadium of the North’ with ambitious plans for a spectacular new Old Trafford. He believes there should be a world-class stadium in the north of England that can be compared to the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London.

The review had two directions Two options were mentioned:

Redeveloping the stadium while improving Old Trafford’s infrastructure, or demolishing Old Trafford and building a new stadium in its place. Either way, it would be an astronomical undertaking. The former alone would cost at least £800 million (about $1,356 billion). To build a new stadium on the same scale as Wembley Stadium would cost up to £2 billion (about $3.389 trillion). Ratcliffe’s ambition to rebuild the club was strong. The club decided to form a task force to plan the feasibility of the project. “Throughout my sporting career, I have seen the potential for stadiums to be powerful centers of community and catalysts for social and economic development. This was the case with the stadium we built in east London for the 2012 Olympics. I am honored to have the opportunity to share my experience in support of this incredibly exciting project,” he said. The task force also includes United legend Gary Neville.

Ratcliffe added: “Old Trafford has played an important role in Britain’s industrial history, but today it could be a major regeneration project for the Greater Manchester region, which needs new investment to thrive again. “The North West of England has more major football clubs than anywhere else in the world, but we don’t have a stadium on the scale of Wembley Stadium, Nou Camp, or the Santiago Bernabeu. We can’t change that on our own, 파워볼실시간 which is why this TF will be so important in seizing this once-in-a-century opportunity,” he says, revealing his enormous ambition. The club’s infrastructure, which had been decaying under the Glazers, is being transformed as soon as Ratcliffe takes over the sporting reins.