NEW Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has laid out plans to demolish Old Trafford and replace it with a £3 billion stadium with consequences for Super League.
The aim is to create a ‘Wembley of the North’ with Ratcliffe shelving the original idea of a £1bn redevelopment of the iconic venue.
The new venue will be built on the existing Old Trafford site or opposite, but it would mean that the Super League Grand Final would have to find a different home for the number of years prior to the completion of the new stadium.
Ratcliffe has set up the ‘Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force’ which is chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe and which includes former Manchester United captain Gary Neville and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
Ratcliffe said: “The north-west of England has a greater concentration of major football clubs than anywhere else in the world, yet we don’t have a stadium on the scale of Wembley, the Nou Camp or Bernabéu.
“We will not be able to change that on our own, which is why this task force is so important to help us seize this once-in-a-century opportunity.”
Other venues have already outlined their interest to host the Super League Grand Final with venues in Newcastle and Manchester already being touted as potential destinations.
RL Commercial Managing Director, Rhodri Jones, previously told League Express: “The conversation is ongoing with Manchester United, they are very keen to keep us, but there is also potential in the North East, London and others. It would be remiss of us to not go and speak to them.”
On the new plans, Lord Coe said: “Throughout my career in sport, I have seen the potential for stadiums to become focal points for strong communities and catalysts for social and economic development.
“That was certainly true of the venues we built in east London for the 2012 Olympics and we are overdue a project of similar scale and ambition in the north of England.”
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