SUMMARY
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 25% stake in Manchester United.
- INEOS CEO Ratcliffe wants Manchester United to have a state-of-the-art home ground.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s era has begun at Manchester United, and the British billionaire has big plans for the English club. The CEO of INEOS group is making his first impact on the English club by bringing a change to the home ground of the Red Devils.
Old Trafford has been the home ground of Manchester United since 1910. The legendary stadium has a capacity of 74,000 and is the second-largest stadium in the UK, behind the Wembley Stadium. While the Theater of Dreams has been one of the biggest teams in the UK, it has been lagging in terms of quality infrastructure under the ownership of the Glazers.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants Manchester United’s new stadium to rival Wembley
The British billionaire is not in favor of relocating the club to a new stadium in the Manchester area. As per the latest reports, Ratcliffe’s team is considering constructing a new stadium in the area immediately next to Old Trafford. The project can cost around $2.52 billion to the new owners.
🚨 Source close to Sir Jim Ratcliffe: “We think the fans would be quite happy to accept a brand new stadium if we stay where we are.” [@TelegraphDucker] #mufc pic.twitter.com/8RHK03JmG8
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) February 6, 2024
The INEOS CEO wants to build a stadium in Manchester that could rival Wembley in terms of infrastructure and modern standards of a soccer stadium. Sources close to Ratcliffe revealed to Telegraph Sport: “He feels the club needs an absolute state-of-the-art, knock-it-out-of-the-park, ‘wow’ stadium. And we feel there’s a strong argument for the country having a top-class major venue in the North – a Wembley of the North.”
There is another option on the table for the team of Sir Jim Ratcliffe. There have been reports about a redevelopment of the current stadium that would take up to eight years to complete. As per the statistics, 25% area inside Old Trafford is being wasted and can be properly utilized after the renovation of the current stadium.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover comes with a guarantee of a $298 million investment in Old Trafford
These plans to move the home of Manchester United might upset the fan base of the English club. Old Trafford has been the home of Manchester United for 114 years. It has been a spiritual home for the club. Parting ways with such an iconic venue will be a hard sell for Ratcliffe.
Not for me. It looks great but I don’t want us leave Old Trafford. It’s too important to our history. https://t.co/Giuw4W7BRl
— Mark Goldbridge (@markgoldbridge) February 6, 2024
The British billionaire might return to his initial proposal. He pledged to invest around $298 million into Old Trafford. The investment will bring up the current home to match the modern standards of a soccer stadium. The original pledge was part of the investment from Jim Ratcliffe, which helped him acquire a 25% stake in the English club.
Old Trafford went under major renovation in 2005. The stadium had minor paint jobs back in 2022. Fans have been calling out the owners for ignoring the stadium for around two decades. The INEOS billionaire might finally respond to these requests with his multiple-million-dollar plan.