Man Utd rejected offer for FREE 80,000-seater stadium before Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £2billion plan, MP claims
MANCHESTER UNITED turned down the chance to move into a new 80,000-seater stadium for FREE, according to an MP.
The club announced two weeks ago that they plan to build a new state-of-the-art venue at a cost of £2billion.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants a “Wembley of the North” with a bold umbrella-style design to replace Old Trafford, which has been in decay for several years.
It comes after a Manchester MP claimed United missed the opportunity to move out their deteriorating spiritual home free of charge.
The area hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and the council decided to build a new venue for the event.
When Manchester was announced as the host city in 1995, United were supposedly spoken to about moving into the brand new stadium.
The club would not have had to pay a penny as the council were desperate for the Games to have a legacy – but United still declined.
Their bitter rivals City grasped the chance and moved into the City of Manchester Stadium, now the Etihad, in 2003.
Labour politician Graham Stringer, who represents Blackley and Middleton South, claims the decision helped the blue side of city get mega-rich new owners and subsequently rise to success.
He wrote in the Manchester Confidential: “I find deep irony in the current situation.
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“It could have been avoided if United had accepted an offer from Manchester City Council when we were planning the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
“We were determined that the Games’ stadium would not become a white elephant. Our plan was to be able to convert the Games’ venue into an 80,000+ replacement or competitor for Wembley.
“United were the only club with sufficient support to make this viable.
“I had meetings with Roland Smith, who then chaired United’s board. He rejected the offer.
“There were then meetings with Manchester City, who bit our hand off.
“Given City’s smaller fan base, the size of the ground had to be reduced but City’s new home in a state-of-the-art stadium made them attractive to the Abu Dhabi United Group, effectively the Abu Dhabi state.
“This and the subsequent investment in the team has led to City’s recent spectacular success and then improvements in the ground. Irony or what?!”
Stringer, who is a Man Utd fan, went on to slam the idea of building a “New Trafford”.
He criticised Ratcliffe’s grand plans as an “ill-thought-out concept and wrong in principle”.
Stringer wrote: “Am I the only person to think there is a distinctly fishy smell when the part owner of United predicts imminent bankruptcy while simultaneously launching an ill-defined scheme costing £2billion.”
He blamed the glory days disappearing on the poor recruitment of players and a focus on “commercial deals” rather than football.