NEW TRAFFORD

Ratcliffe vision for the 'new United' includes building super £2bn stadium like SoFi in LA

- DAVID McDONNELL

MANCHESTER UNITED plan to build a new stadium on the site of Old Trafford - with the move to be confirmed by the end of the year.

United's preferred option is to build a completely new 100,00-seater state-of-the-art stadium on land adjacent to Old Trafford at a cost of around £2billion - by 2030.

The other option is to redevelop Old Trafford.

However, that would present logistical issues, including having to reduce attendances from 75,000 to around 40,000 while the work was carried out or play at an alternative venue.

Building a new arena would see United continue to play at Old Trafford while construction was carried out. There are no plans to play at another ground on the agenda at the moment.

United have set up the Old Trafford Task Force to assess the feasibility of both options. Officials have been visiting stadiums all over the world on factfinding missions to gain an insight into how to build the best sports arena in the UK.