Man Utd risk new stadium delay as team behind £2bn project prioritise San Siro rebuild

Manchester United could find themselves with some big decisions to make as their new stadium partners look at redeveloping the San Siro in Italy while they try to iron out difficulties

Manchester United may be forced to wait in line over their ambitious plans for a new £2billion stadium. Old Trafford chiefs could find themselves behind AC Milan and Inter Milan as the Italian duo look to get their own new stadium plans off the ground.

The clubs share a crucial partner as they all attempt to regenerate historic grounds in world football. Foster + Partners are the firm behind designing Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 100,000 capacity hopes, with a timeline for completion of 2030 touted.

But the global studio for sustainable architecture, urbanism, engineering and design is now getting work underway designing the new San Siro, per Mail Online. Fosters have been given the all-clear to build a new 71,500-seater San Siro with the current stadium to be knocked down.

That could leave their hands full, and there are hopes that development could be complete by 2031, in time for the European Championship the following year. The report suggests that Fosters were in discussions with Birmingham City but felt their priorities were too focused elsewhere.

United told their Fan Forum meeting earlier this month that they continue to work with Fosters, but with a caveat. “The club relayed it is working collaboratively with Foster+ Partners as the master planner for the wider regeneration project and that no official appointment has been made for the engineering and construction contract for the new stadium build project,” read the minutes.

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The Red Devils remain hopeful of securing a deal to purchase land surrounding Old Trafford for the project and told the latest fans’ forum meeting that ‘constructive discussions’ have taken place with Freightliner over acquiring it. The extra land behind Old Trafford is said to be critical to Lord Foster’s tent design.

A United spokesperson said: “Early design work has been intentionally paused until we have greater clarity on land assembly and fan requirements. As with other aspects of the project, we encourage fans to treat speculative media reports with caution.

“We remain excited by the vision set out by Foster + Partners for a new stadium at the heart of a wider regeneration of the Old Trafford area.

“We always said this was a conceptual design, with more detailed architectural work to follow. While we remain keen to advance as quickly as possible, the timetable is subject to progress on land assembly and financing, which depends on key stakeholders working together.”

United have previously admitted that they can’t deliver their ambitious vision for Old Trafford alone, and have been working closely with the government and Trafford Council. Both the club and the city region have a goal to bring significant fixtures to the stadium from the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035.

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