Man United’s £50m sticking point in ‘behind-the-scenes’ stadium plans
Man United will be looking at alternative options after suffering a setback in their plans to build a new stadium.
That is the verdict of football finance Dr Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the decision to remove the canopy from the designs was likely due to an issue with the organisation that owns the land on which the club wishes to build its new stadium.
Man United unveiled their new stadium plans in March of this year, unveiling the designs of a modern 100,000-seater venue.
The new ground’s designs received mixed reviews, with some Man United fans saying it looked like a circus tent, due to the canopy that sat atop the stadium itself.
However, updated designs have been drawn up without the controversial canopy, and the reason for that may be to do with space and land.
Man United at odds with landowners over asking price
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, Plumley explained that the canopy had likely disappeared from the plans due to the dispute with Freightliner.
The company are asking for £400million for the land on which United want to build their new ground, £50m more than the club is willing to pay.
Plumley said: “This one seems to be more to do with space and Freightliner, which is always part of the challenge with building a new stadium, because space and land is an issue.
“So what they’re looking at here is some new designs that remove the canopy, because Freightliner are playing hardball with the land that they would have to give up to enable this to happen.
“They want another £50million above what United are prepared to pay, at the moment, from what we can see.
“It’s a little bit about space, and it’s about cost, but not necessarily cost in relation to United not being able to raise the finances. They obviously don’t want to pay what they perceive to be over the odds for the land.
“And I’m sure there’ll be other plans that have been drawn up behind the scenes as well, they kind of caught the eye in the early drafts, but we don’t fully know whether that will be what it looks like in the future or not.”
New stadium plans could be put on hold
Finance expert Stefan Borson also spoke to Football Insider about new stadium plans and revealed that Man United’s debts may put a pause on new construction plans.
Despite posting a club-record revenue of £666.5m, the Red Devils have debt obligations of almost £1.1bn.
Without a subsidy from Manchester’s local government or central government, the club will struggle to pay for a new home, and Freightliner’s asking price is yet another financial setback United could have done without.