{"id":453700,"date":"2025-09-26T21:20:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T21:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/453700\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T21:20:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T21:20:21","slug":"manchester-uniteds-new-stadium-plans-change-as-controversial-feature-scrapped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/453700\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United’s new stadium plans change as \u2018controversial feature scrapped’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The controversial canopy caused a storm when plans were revealed by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and architect Sir Norman Foster for a new stadium to replace the club’s iconic Old Trafford home<\/p>\n

21:32, 26 Sep 2025Updated 21:47, 26 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

\"UnitedUnited unveiled ambitious plans for a new \u00a32billion stadium earlier this year<\/p>\n

Manchester United have scrapped plans for their controversial canopies at their new stadium \u2014 after fans said it looked like a circus tent<\/a>. The huge “umbrella” covering was a striking part of the artists impression released six months<\/a> ago by stadium designers.<\/p>\n

But it caused a storm when it was revealed by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe<\/a> and architect Sir Norman Foster as part of bold plans for a new stadium to replace the club’s iconic Old Trafford home.<\/p>\n

And new plans are being drawn up without the three giant prongs, due to issues over buying the required land, the Athletic reports<\/a>. The fresh designs are said to be more in line with traditional stadium appearances.<\/p>\n

\"UnitedUnited have scrapped previous plans<\/p>\n

The club had released concept images and videos of their proposed 100,000-seater stadium in March, which included a massive, umbrella-like canopy. The design aimed to create a modern, sustainable destination complete with a public plaza.<\/p>\n

On a clear day, the canopy, held up by three masts, would be visible from as far away as Liverpool. But critics described the colossal structure to a circus tent.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe plans were mocked by some fans(Image: Foster and Partners \/ SWNS)<\/p>\n

It was supposed to cover fans from the weather and create a stadium like no other, but talks to buy the land needed to build the massive canopy have hit a brick wall.<\/p>\n

The freight company Freightliner \u2014 which owns much of the land west of Old Trafford that United wanted to buy \u2014 are demanding a whopping \u00a3400million, way above United\u2019s \u00a350million estimate.<\/p>\n

\"SirSir Jim previously backed the plans(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Sir Jim Ratcliffe explained at the time: “The brief to Norman Foster here was to build the world’s most iconic football stadium. It had to be a stadium which was recognisable around the world.<\/p>\n

“We said to Norman that we would like a stadium where when anybody in the world sees that stadium, they’ll know it’s Manchester United<\/a>. It’s more than a new stadium.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew plans won’t include the massive umbrella roof<\/p>\n

“Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, everyone wants to visit. Everyone in the world will want to come visit this stadium. I think the design of the stadium is a 10 out of 10. I think it’s a really special design.”<\/p>\n

Billionaire co-owner Sir Jim also sparked controversy when he asked the government for help with funding for infrastructure around the new stadium. But six months on, no cash has been confirmed.<\/p>\n

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking <\/strong>here<\/a> <\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The controversial canopy caused a storm when plans were revealed by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and architect Sir…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,423,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-453700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-united-fc","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115272694326555325","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}