Man United managing director Richard Arnold, has said that any attempts to add an extra tier to the Sir Bobby Charlton stand would be a massive undertaking and could take several seasons to complete.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Arnold stated that the club had left the most difficult expansion until last:
The South Stand – the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand – is the last unexpanded stand. It’s sandwiched in a fairly narrow strip of land between the pitch and the main Manchester to Liverpool railway. There’s not much space on either side of the stand meaning that it’s a very complex engineering challenge to deliver. It would be a multi-season challenge and it isn’t certain that there’s a way of doing it which doesn’t render us homeless.
Arnold lamented the fact that United do not have a ready made stadium to borrow while Old Trafford is under construction, citing Spurs' ability to use the Wembley while White Hart Lane is being rebuilt:
We have the biggest fanbase in the country and we’re not in London, where we could use Wembley. So that’s not a light challenge for us and we don’t want to give up the home advantage that we have here. Moving elsewhere would be difficult and the logistical issues associated with expanding the South Stand are not negligible. And that’s before you start getting into how big the expanded stadium should be.
Expansion plans that have yet to be green lit would see Old Traffords' capacity jump from 74,994 to 88,000 and this increase would see the stadium become the second largest club specific venue in the world, second only to the Camp Nou which has a maximum capacity of 105,000.
Arnold has said that the expansion of Old Trafford will happen "one day", and that the Glazer family “are 100 per cent aligned in terms of the continuing development of the stadium”.
H/T: The South China Morning Post
