Report: United pondering Old Trafford revamp options, could demolish venue

Manchester United are yet to rule out demolishing and rebuilding Old Trafford as they meet with various companies before deciding on how to revamp their home ground, sources told ESPN's Rob Dawson.

Improving the venue is part of the commitments made by the Glazer family to appease supporters following their attempt to join the European Super League in 2021.

Collette Roche, United's chief operating officer, told a fans' forum in February that the club was hoping to appoint its "preferred partners" for the project "in the coming weeks." Roche said the club was meeting with companies "across a range of disciplines, including architecture, engineering, construction, crowd modeling, transport, security, and many more."

United would prefer to remain on the same site as their historic ground but want their men's team to continue to play at Old Trafford throughout the revamp process. The latter wish would prove difficult if the bulldozers are called on the whole stadium. Plus, there's a lack of alternative venues in the area.

Old Trafford holds more than 75,000 supporters. The next biggest football venues in the Greater Manchester area are Manchester City's 53,400-capacity Etihad Stadium and Bolton Wanderers' University of Bolton Stadium, which has 28,723 seats.

A possible answer to address this issue would be to implement a phased rebuild of Old Trafford, which would likely result in a reduced capacity as the project moves to work on different parts of the stadium. This was the club's intention before meeting with companies to discuss the revamp, Dawson reports.

Old Trafford has been United's home since 1910. Its last redevelopment project was in 2006 when seating was added in the quadrants on either side of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. The club hasn't limited its budget or capacity increase for the intended revamp and has promised to consult with fans before finalizing the plans.