Glazers must improve Old Trafford as Man United's home shows its age
The ESPN FC crew discuss Manchester United's progress so far this season.
If the Glazer family are as serious about their long term intentions at Manchester United as they've always maintained, they need to invest some of the club's record revenues into enlarging and improving the stadium so it can remain one of the best in football.
Unlike in the United States, where the Glazers are familiar with the politics of building new stadia, local authorities will not bankroll stadium construction, nor will governments as part of an investment spree ahead of a competition. Clubs don't operate on a franchise system either where they can be relocated because another city seduces them with the offer of a newer stadium.
Manchester United may have their commercial offices in Mayfair, but the club are from Manchester. Moving is not an option and the formation of Milton Keynes Dons is rightly seen as abhorrent 13 years after they assumed Wimbledon FC's status. The Dodgers might move from Brooklyn to LA, the Raiders from LA to Oakland and Vegas, but in Britain, Doncaster play in Doncaster and Newcastle in Newcastle.
Old Trafford is remarkable. It was the most advanced stadium in Britain when it opened in 1909 and despite relegation, Second World War bombs and the Taylor Report, it managed to stay ahead of the rest. It benefitted from the foresight of a former chairman, Louis Edwards, which meant it could be expanded seamlessly since 1965. His son Martin barely mentions this in his new autobiography, but he should be proud of his father's forward thinking.
Other teams built piecemeal homes, stand by stand, often using different architects and often producing an affront to architecture as they did. Though Manchester City fans loved their old home, their Maine Road was an uneasily juxtaposed collection of styles.
United planned for the long term and built every new stand from their own self-generated funds thanks to being Britain's best-supported club.
Old Trafford had the smartest stand at the 1966 World Cup finals and along with Goodison Park, it was the only stadium where you could stand and sit on all four sides under cover in the 1980s.
Manchester United have the biggest club stadium in England but rivals are catching up.
Massive development in the 90s and noughties was delivered on time, true to the original plans and in budget. How many other stadium projects can say the same?
Records continued to be broken. The roof on the cantilever of what's now the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand was the largest in the world in 1995. Old Trafford's pitch is in a hollow and it was only with the construction of that giant stand that the roofline rose significantly above the surrounding skyline. The floodlights, which were dismantled in 1988, were a much missed landmark.
The major stadium developments continued until the Glazers took control in 2005. True, the family sanctioned the continuation of the quadrants to boost the capacity by 8,000 when they could have called a halt. They've smartened up the executive facilities too -- because they had to wake them up from their musty 80s prime. There's money in executive facilities so that made sense.
But the great old stadium the most recognisable building in Greater Manchester which oozes power and evokes reverence, is starting to look neglected. Paint is peeling off the white iron girders of the stands built in 2000. The cladding is a bit 90s. City fans compare it unfavourably to a Meccano set.
Unlike City's sponsored home, Old Trafford has a soul. Phillip Jackson's bronze statue of Sir Matt Busby is framed by the huge glass curtain of the East stand. Facing it, the Holy Trinity of Best, Law and Charlton. The Ferguson statue and the Munich memorials add to the magic, but development should not have stopped a decade ago.
Old Trafford's capacity is 75, 643 and United have looked at plans to expand.
Old Trafford is still the biggest and remains much loved by the fans who fill it every week, but rival clubs are playing catch up.
United have looked at numerous options how to expand the stadium, but none have been given the go ahead. Only the Glazers, the ultimate controllers of the purse strings, have that power.
The natural development would be to continue the stadium to complete the bowl effect. Two new quadrants would add another 8,000 seats in the corners. That would mean 84,000 seats. Another tier on the main stand would add another 10,000 seats. A third tier to mirror the Ferguson stand would make the capacity 97,000, though it's trickier as there's a rail line behind the stand and houses, too. It's possible, though. It's also expensive.
Only Barcelona's Camp Nou (which is being expanded to 105,000) would be bigger in Europe. Real Madrid, one of the three biggest clubs in the world with United and Barca, are also investing heavily in the Bernabeu. So why aren't United in Old Trafford?
While matchday revenue used to provide the lion's share of United's entire revenue, its importance is diminishing. In 2006, when the last major development opened, match day revenue accounted for 43 percent of United's total revenue, with 28 percent coming from commercial revenue and 29 percent from broadcasting. Fast forward a decade and the matchday revenue had dropped to 21 percent and was behind commercial at 52 percent and broadcasting with 27 percent.
While United's commercial power has grown, the club's owners have yet to confirm plans to boost Old Trafford.
United's commercial revenue grew from £47 million in 2006 to a staggering £268m in 2016. Ticket prices have stalled in the last five years, yet matchday revenue increased to £107m in a decade.
It's still important and it's crucial that United continue to invest in the stadium. Older generations are used to it being how it is, but when they opened the new Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta last month, the two host tenants felt they were in competition not with another stadium, but fans watching at home on 40 inch television. They had access to replays and wifi, so Atlanta boasts the seventh largest video screen in the world. The scoreboards at Old Trafford have no option to play images.
Endearing as the lack of screens, tight leg room and low roofs which cloak the stadium in grey and limit views may be, Old Trafford's progress has always come because the club have been at the forefront of stadia development. Now, it's well behind some of the more modern new arenas.
New doesn't mean better, but another decade without development is inconceivable. The demand is there to see more tickets, both executive and normal. Safe standing could be introduced, the already excellent disabled section improved further and the same goes for the cash cow of the executive facilities.
It's time the Glazers need to spend a few quid on the house they took a huge mortgage out on 12 years ago.
Andy Mitten is a freelance writer and the founder and editor of United We Stand. Follow him on Twitter: @AndyMitten.
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Source: espn.co.uk
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