MIPIM | Leaders confident of securing land, funding for £2bn Old Trafford
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham reiterated that the club’s new home would receive zero public funding while Manchester United COO Collette Roche told Place North West she is sure the club can find the money to finance the 100,000-capacity project without state backing.
Speaking in front of a packed room on the UK Stage at MIPIM, Burnham was at pains to state his firm stance that the stadium itself would not get public backing.
“It is for Manchester United to fund their new home,” he said.
“There will be no public money, and that will not change in the duration of this project. And I do want that message to be heard loud and clear today.”
Talks on the funding structure and mechanism are still in the works but will need to be worked out quickly if the club’s five- to six-year delivery programme is to be met.
“We’ve not got a package of how that’s all going to work right now,” Roche said, while confirming the project would cost in the region of £2bn.
“We’ve got a lot of ideas and [are having] a lot of conversations but we are convinced that certainly, based on the interest, the business case, the demand we’ve got, the products, that is definitely fundable.”
Funding is one obstacle that needs to be overcome, another is land assembly.
While the stadium building will be left to Manchester United to pay for, Burnham insinuated public money could be spent to help with securing the required land.
“That is where the public money is more likely to be spent,” he said.
Manchester United owns much of the land it requires to build the stadium but there are some outstanding parcels needed to execute the vision. Chief among these is the Freightliner terminal.
Roche said that in order for the stadium to be constructed in the “optimum place” this land would be required.
When asked by Place whether it is a risk to announce such a large plan on a global stage such as MIPIM when something as fundamental as land assembly has not completed, Roche said it was not.
Collette Roche spoke to Place North West at MIPIM. Credit: PNW
“Sometimes I find until you actually articulate what the mission is and you show the art of the possible, nobody takes you seriously,” Roche said,
“I don’t see it as a risk. I see it as an opportunity.”
Burnham is leading the charge to assemble this part of the site by relocating the terminal to IPL North in Liverpool City Region – a £200m to £300m project, he said.
He conceded there is an element of risk to all development projects but that he is confident of completing the Freightliner deal.
“We’ve had those conversations with some of those, those landowners, and it’s a strange project where people are more aligned than I’ve ever seen before.”
He added that any outstanding land that cannot be acquired through negotiation could be bought by the mayoral development corporation he is working to set up to drive the regeneration of the area around Old Trafford, through the use of compulsory purchase powers.
“It allows you to unlock knotty land assembly issues if you need to use those powers. So it de-risks the land assembly part of it,” he said.
Lord Sebastian Coe, chair of the Old Trafford Regeneration Taskforce, was one of the panellists discussing the project at MIPIM.
He said the scheme could have a bigger impact than London 2012 and be a bigger regeneration catalyst than the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
“Barcelona moved from never being in the top 20 European destinations before 1992 to never being out of the top four since then,” he said.
“I don’t think I’m overstating when I say this actually has the potential to be, not only a bigger project than London 2012 but, in terms of European scope and scale, probably the biggest thing that’s ever really been undertaken.”
Credit: PNW
Radcliffe is clearly angling for public funding.
By Anonymous
Always thought there should be a Butlins up north again, but always thought Southport or Blackpool the more likely candidates. The irony of calling the outer skin the umbrella with the current leak roof is great too.
By PrestonBrummie
I understand how a prefab stadium can be erected in 5 to 6 years… I don’t understand how a rail freight terminal can be removed and a new one built by St. Helens, plus a new railway station at Old Trafford, plus new public realm, plus new metrolink – all within 5 to 6 years.
Some quality work from PNW in asking some very sensible questions. I’d love to see the cranes in the sky.. but 5 to 6 years?
By Anonymous
Outside London only Manchester could make this happen.Thinking big has served us well in the past 25 yrs. Second city now by a long long way .
By Stretford Manc
The umbrella makes sense in an incredibly wet city. Actually, it’s like the old saying, if life deals you lemons, make lemonade, and Manchester is certainly dealt with rain and drizzle, so why not build architecture that not only solves it, but does so in a spectacular way
By EOD
Amazing
By Anonymous
Would make more sense to build it on the site of the training ground out at Carrington.
Wembley has a capacity of 90,000 but doesn’t hold events with the same regularity as a football club (especially one competing for top honours domestically or in Europe).
Ergo there is nothing to suggest it would make a particularly attractive location to live.
By Ram Tailor
EOD: Manchester is not an “incredibly wet city”. That is fake news from the 1930s Daily Mail. You have been to Manchester. Venice rains one day less (but the streets are flooded). There are more rainy days in Sunderland, Glasgow, Munich, Vigo in Spain, Milan, Swansea, Coruna Spain, and the same in Liverpool, to name ony a few. Less Rainy Manchester is the truth.
By Anonymous
While Liverpool are still doing public consultations for 3 story buildings 40 years on
By Anonymous
It will happen for Manchester and good on them wish we had this type of vision in Liverpool
By Anonymous
There are some really idiotic and poorly researched/untrue comments on this forum in relation to the Old Trafford redevelopment. EOD for example and his umbrella comment, smacks of envy and jealousy to me.
By Degsy
I’m certain this will get funding. Public funding, even if it’s disguised. Not because it should get public funding, but simply because of the the people involved and that’s how the British government works. The government will already be “minded to approve”. The figures can be made to say whatever it needed. If we were to come up with the same idea it would be a flat out no.
Just look at HS2.
The infrastructure costs in this are huge, not least the relocation of a freight terminal and all the ensuing complications. What impact will this have on rail freight movements and the already constrained ability for Liverpool City Region to have even basic connectivity for a city its size? What modelling has been done on motorway and road congestion and pollution levels in the St Helens and Warrington areas? And much more besides.
By John
They can afford to build a £2b stadium but they can’t afford a sandwich (not a prawn one) for the match day staff………
By Phil Ingham
Public money IS required.
Man U PLC, a private company, require public money for the the huge fright terminal be relocated so that the new stadium can be built.
Utd also need public money for other land acquisition which is crucial to them.
This is speculative, Utd. are in debt, almost going bust and do not have the money.
They have gone to MIPIM hoping that others will pay.
By Lets be Realistic
What will be built on the site of the existing stadium? Hopefully some affordable homes plus, in the same way as City’s former Maine Road site, a courtyard featuring a memorial on the site of the present centre circle?
I hope Mr. Burnham’s optimism and drive pays off, so that the Theatre of Dreams doesn’t become the Theatre of Nightmares.
By Francis
Loss of agricultural land, green belt, wildlife. More pollution in an area that Mr Burnham wanted to include into the Clean Air Zone. More traffic pollution, noise pollution, traffic congestion in the so called area of St Helens, the freight terminal will be located too. The terminal will be built in 2 boroughs, St Helens and Wigan with Warrington no doubt giving up agricultural land to join in the future. All this for a football stadium. Oh yes and to add insult to injury the tax payers in the area will have to contribute.
By C Birchall
The absolute state of Greater Manchester and the Mayor is focused on this? Not a single penny of public funds should be involved. The Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself, we cant educate our kids or look after the pensioners and a private company is going to be bailed out? No chance.
By Mike the Manc