Old Trafford - Future

Future

United continue to harbour plans to increase the capacity of the stadium further, with the next stage pointing to a redevelopment of the South Stand, which, unlike the rest of the stadium, remains single tier. A replication of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand development and North-East and -West Quadrants would see the stadium's capacity rise to an estimated 95,000, which would give it a greater capacity than Wembley Stadium (90,000). Any such development is likely to cost around £100m, due to the proximity of the railway line that runs adjacent to the stadium, and the corresponding need to build over it and thus purchase up to 50 houses on the other side of the railway. Nevertheless, the Manchester United group property manager confirmed that expansion plans are in the pipeline – linked to profits made from the club's property holdings around Manchester – saying "There is a strategic plan for the stadium ... It is not our intention to stand still". One criticism of the plans, however, is that increasing the height of the South Stand would further reduce the amount of light coming onto the pitch, which has caused problems in similarly large stadia – such as Wembley Stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the San Siro; according to Alex Ferguson, the developments on the other stands have already caused problems.

It has been suggested that, should such an expansion take place, Old Trafford could be used instead of Wembley for big matches such as England internationals – in order to increase the ability of fans in the north of the country to watch England play; and FA Cup semi-finals – to maintain the prestige of the national stadium for the final.