Man Utd confirm appointment of consultants to oversee Old Trafford redevelopment 'masterplan'
By Sean Walsh
Manchester United have announced that they have now appointed a team of consultants to help lead the redevelopment of Old Trafford.
The club recently said they were looking into ways to modernise and redevelop the 112-year-old stadium, which has been their base since 1910.
The Red Devils confirmed on Thursday that they are working with management consultant company Legends International and architectural firm Populous - who designed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - over plans to redevelop Old Trafford.
"Manchester United has appointed a team of leading consultants to begin work on creating a masterplan for the redevelopment of Old Trafford," a statement read.
"The team will be led by Legends International and Populous, both of which have a wealth of stadium development experience from across the globe.
"Work will begin immediately on developing options for Old Trafford and studying their feasibility, with the aim of significantly enhancing the fan experience.
"Fans will be at the heart of the process, starting with a meeting between the consultants and the Manchester United Fans’ Advisory Board later this month.
"A similar process is already under way in relation to the club’s training facilities, with KSS appointed to develop a masterplan for an expanded, state-of-the-art facility for the Men’s, Women’s and Academy teams."
Further details reported by the Telegraph reveal that the most likely course of action will be redevelopment of the existing site, which would include expanding the south stand to take Old Trafford's overall capacity to more than 80,000.
It had been previously reported that the stadium could be knocked down entirely and rebuilt from scratch, but this is now not a likely scenario. There has also been the possibility of building a second smaller stadium to house the women's and Under-23 teams. But the Telegraph states, only '...if the existing site was completely reconfigured and a main new stadium built'.