Ineos deliver fresh Man United mega stadium hint with £1.4bn Old Trafford blueprint already clear

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Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have offered their clearest hint yet as to what the future of Manchester United may look like. The new Red Devils minority owner has not hidden his ambition to create a new Old Trafford, with grand plans for a 100,000-seater mega stadium set to be submitted by the end of this year.

In the latest developments, as reported by the Manchester Evening News, United have appointed Foster + Partners to assess the intended regeneration at Old Trafford. Back in 2022, United hired stadium masterplanners Populous to explore the feasibility of a revamped or new-build stadium.

Forster + Partners worked alongside Populous on the construction of Wembley Stadium and the Lusail Stadium in Qatar - which could well now act as two potential blueprints for United's new ground. The new Wembley Stadium cost a reported £798million to build, which is equivalent to £1.51billion today, while The Lusail Stadium in Qatar cost £577.9million to build, though reports have varied since work commenced.

READ MORE: United aiming to submit plans for new-build stadium by end of the year

READ MORE: What Ratcliffe said about rebuilding Old Trafford

(Image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

The home of English football has a capacity of 90,000 seats and is the second largest stadium in Europe, behind Barcelona's Camp Nou, which will hold around 105,000 when expansion work is complete in August 2026. The Lusail Stadium, has a capacity of 88,966 and was built in time for Qatar hosting the World Cup in 2022, before hosting the AFC Asian Cup Final earlier this year.

Foster + Partners were responsible for the aesthetic facades of Wembley and the Lusail Stadium with Populous overseeing the technical requirements of both stadiums. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has overlooked Populous, since becoming a minority shareholder at United, in favour of fellow Mancunian Lord Foster's firm.

The architecture studio will be tasked with developing a masterplan for Old Trafford, covering the club-owned land that surrounds the current stadium. The firm are already involved with United's £50million refurbishment of the Carrington training ground complex.

United have not officially confirmed their plans to build a £2bn stadium on the existing site, but as the Manchester Evening News reported in July, the club are aiming to submit plans for a new stadium by the end of the year.

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