What is the status of Man Utd's new stadium plans?

Martin Macdonald

• 19 Mar 2026 10:30 CDT
• 6 min read

News

Manchester United are apparently at least a year away from submitting a planning application for their brand new Old Trafford stadium.

In March of 2025, the Red Devils revealed the design for the 'new' Old Trafford and it was divisive to say the least, with the most eye-catching aspect of the graphic being three sky-scraping canopies.

At the time, INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe said of the plans:

"Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford.

"Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport. By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home. Just as important is the opportunity for a new stadium to be the catalyst for social and economic renewal of the Old Trafford area, creating jobs and investment not just during the construction phase but on a lasting basis when the stadium district is complete."

🏟️ JUST IN: Manchester United have drawn out plans for a new Old Trafford WITHOUT the canopy presented in images earlier this year.

United are looking at alternatives to the bold design due to issues over purchasing the required land needed from Freightliner, who are demanding… pic.twitter.com/OBwzHkgSQX

— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) September 26, 2025

The canopies have since been scrapped after the poor reception to the design, but plans are still moving ahead, slowly, for the development of the new stadium.

It turns out the price of the land in which the new stadium will be built is a lot, a lot, more expensive than previously thought.

The Guardian previously reported that United believed they would have to pay the owners of the land, logistics company Freightliner, around £50 million. However, that number is apparently closer to £400m.

That's the main reason for the ongoing delay as negotiations continue. Collette Roche, chief executive officer of the New Stadium Development project, says the club hopes to submit a planning application in 2027.

"The plan would be that within the next couple of months we should be there or thereabouts on the land assembly which will be an important milestone," Roche explained as quoted by The Mirror.

"We’re spending a lot of time with local council to say what’s your ambition, how many houses, where’s the best place to put them so hopefully by the time we get to the planning application in 12-18 months time we won’t be starting from fresh.

"We are going through a process to make sure we get the best team in place, one that works in the same way we work and is up for the challenge and the ambition. And then we will lock that in. Then we start to build the plans. It starts now."

The new stadium is set to be built on the current Old Trafford land, only expanded, hence the negotiations with Freightliner. There are also ongoing conversations with construction companies willing to take on such a mammoth project.

Man Utd shareholder and Ineos supremo Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been the main driving force behind the new stadium plans, as he believes there should be a stadium in the North as big and prestigious as Wembley.

"There's a very good case, in my view, for having a stadium of the North, which would serve the northern part of the country in that arena of football," he previously stated.

"If you look at the number of Champions League the North West has won, it's 10. London has won two. And yet everybody from the North has to get down to London to watch a big football match. And there should be one [a large stadium] in the North, in my view."

The Athletic reports that the new design is "more in line with traditional appearances" as the previous canopy look by Foster + Partners was labelled as "ugly" and a "circus" previously.

The canopy design would have cost between £300m and £400m to construct, but with the land set to become a major cost, a cheaper design has been created.

Stadium will not be taxpayer funded

Roche insisted that no taxpayer money will be used to build the club’s proposed new stadium despite suggestions to the contrary by Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe had previously stated that the government could contribute towards regeneration plans around the Old Trafford area, having revealed plans to build a new 100,000-seater stadium on the nearby land.

However, Roche, who is leading the project from the club side, calmed the speculation and clarified that any government help would be regarding around logistics rather than finances.

"Absolutely not," Roche told the We Built This City podcast, when asked if public money would be used to build the stadium. “We understand the stadium is our responsibility. We want to provide a great stadium for our fans. We will pay the £2bn, I think it is at the last estimate, to be able to do that.

“But there is no point building the biggest or the best stadium in the UK and it being on an island and you can't get to it because the transport links aren't there or people can't come on non-matchday or local businesses can't be part of it.

"Our ask of the Government is that they support, not the stadium build, but really support the infrastructure and regeneration of the area."

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