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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manchester United plan to build a new £2-billion 100,000-seat stadium that will be the biggest in Britain, next to the existing Old Trafford, the club has announced. The stadium is expected to be completed in five years, the Premier League side added.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“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,” said United’s co-owner, Jim Ratcliffe.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The British billionaire had been open about his desire for a new, state-of-the-art “Wembley of the north” since he became a minority owner in February last year. The club have been studying whether to redevelop the existing stadium, which has been the club’s home since 1910, or build a new one.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Plan of action</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United appointed Foster and Partners in September to develop a masterplan for the area around Old Trafford as part of a regeneration project.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The club unveiled architectural designs for the new stadium, which will feature an umbrella design, at an event on Tuesday morning in London.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today,” </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Norman Foster, Foster and Partners’ executive chairman, said. “It all starts with the fans’ experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foster was optimistic that they could speed up the building process by utilising the region’s canal network.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Normally a stadium would take 10 years to build,” Foster said. “We (will) halve that time. Five years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“How do we do that? By prefabrication. By using the network of Manchester Ship Canal. Bringing it back to a new life, shipping in components, 160 of them…”</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2629956\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2190130079.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1658\" height=\"1203\" /> <em>Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a minority shareholder of Manchester United, in attendance at Etihad Stadium on 15 December 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Michael Regan / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2629955\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2204189826.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1873\" height=\"1117\" /> <em>Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United applaud the fans after a draw during their Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford on 9 March 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Carl Recine / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stadium will be part of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area, with British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves recently giving government backing for the plans.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United say the project could create as many as 92,000 new jobs and would lead to the construction of 17,000 homes, and would be worth an additional £7.3-billion per year to the British economy.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Old Trafford has not had any major redevelopment since 2006, and criticism of the 74,879-seat stadium, England's biggest club ground, has grown in recent years, with issues around its leaking roof and recent rodent sightings.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite Old Trafford’s size, the club have fallen behind the likes of Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that host extra events and concerts to boost revenue — similar to what will be seen at Everton, who will leave Goodison Park at season’s end for their new venue at Bramley-Moore Dock.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arch-rivals Manchester City moved into the Etihad Stadium in 2003 and are in the process of expanding the capacity to more than 60,000.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Fan protest</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Old Trafford, which was rebuilt after being heavily damaged in World War 2, was affectionately known as the “Theatre of Dreams”, but has become the stuff of nightmares in recent months, with the team finishing eighth in the Premier League last season and currently languishing in 14th position.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thousands of black-clad fans marched to the stadium before United’s draw with Arsenal on Sunday in a protest against majority owners, the American Glazer family.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United’s current total debt, including £300-million in outstanding transfer fees, is in excess of £1-billion, and a second round of redundancies that could result in up to 200 people losing their jobs was recently announced. About 250 employees departed the club last year.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new stadium will have a gross seating capacity of 104,000, the second largest in Europe behind Barcelona’s Camp Nou (105,000) and more than the 90,000-seat Wembley.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stadium’s tallest mast will reach 200m in height, which will tower over Manchester’s tallest building, Beetham Tower, at 169m. Wembley’s arch is 135m.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The club said the stadium would be visible for up to 37.4 kilometres, from both the nearby Peak District, parts of Cheshire, and the outskirts of Liverpool in optimum conditions. </span><b>Reuters/DM</b>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manchester United plan to build a new £2-billion 100,000-seat stadium that will be the biggest in Britain, next to the existing Old Trafford, the club has announced. The stadium is expected to be completed in five years, the Premier League side added.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“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,” said United’s co-owner, Jim Ratcliffe.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The British billionaire had been open about his desire for a new, state-of-the-art “Wembley of the north” since he became a minority owner in February last year. The club have been studying whether to redevelop the existing stadium, which has been the club’s home since 1910, or build a new one.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Plan of action</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United appointed Foster and Partners in September to develop a masterplan for the area around Old Trafford as part of a regeneration project.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The club unveiled architectural designs for the new stadium, which will feature an umbrella design, at an event on Tuesday morning in London.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today,” </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Norman Foster, Foster and Partners’ executive chairman, said. “It all starts with the fans’ experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foster was optimistic that they could speed up the building process by utilising the region’s canal network.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Normally a stadium would take 10 years to build,” Foster said. “We (will) halve that time. Five years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“How do we do that? By prefabrication. By using the network of Manchester Ship Canal. Bringing it back to a new life, shipping in components, 160 of them…”</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2629956\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1658\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2629956\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2190130079.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1658\" height=\"1203\" /> <em>Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a minority shareholder of Manchester United, in attendance at Etihad Stadium on 15 December 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Michael Regan / Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2629955\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1873\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2629955\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2204189826.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1873\" height=\"1117\" /> <em>Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United applaud the fans after a draw during their Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford on 9 March 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Carl Recine / Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stadium will be part of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area, with British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves recently giving government backing for the plans.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United say the project could create as many as 92,000 new jobs and would lead to the construction of 17,000 homes, and would be worth an additional £7.3-billion per year to the British economy.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Old Trafford has not had any major redevelopment since 2006, and criticism of the 74,879-seat stadium, England's biggest club ground, has grown in recent years, with issues around its leaking roof and recent rodent sightings.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite Old Trafford’s size, the club have fallen behind the likes of Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that host extra events and concerts to boost revenue — similar to what will be seen at Everton, who will leave Goodison Park at season’s end for their new venue at Bramley-Moore Dock.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arch-rivals Manchester City moved into the Etihad Stadium in 2003 and are in the process of expanding the capacity to more than 60,000.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Fan protest</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Old Trafford, which was rebuilt after being heavily damaged in World War 2, was affectionately known as the “Theatre of Dreams”, but has become the stuff of nightmares in recent months, with the team finishing eighth in the Premier League last season and currently languishing in 14th position.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thousands of black-clad fans marched to the stadium before United’s draw with Arsenal on Sunday in a protest against majority owners, the American Glazer family.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United’s current total debt, including £300-million in outstanding transfer fees, is in excess of £1-billion, and a second round of redundancies that could result in up to 200 people losing their jobs was recently announced. About 250 employees departed the club last year.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new stadium will have a gross seating capacity of 104,000, the second largest in Europe behind Barcelona’s Camp Nou (105,000) and more than the 90,000-seat Wembley.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stadium’s tallest mast will reach 200m in height, which will tower over Manchester’s tallest building, Beetham Tower, at 169m. Wembley’s arch is 135m.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The club said the stadium would be visible for up to 37.4 kilometres, from both the nearby Peak District, parts of Cheshire, and the outskirts of Liverpool in optimum conditions. </span><b>Reuters/DM</b>",
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a minority shareholder of Manchester United, in attendance at Etihad Stadium on 15 December 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Michael Regan / Getty Images)
Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United applaud the fans after a draw during their Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford on 9 March 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo: Carl Recine / Getty Images)