British studio Foster + Partners has revealed designs for a stadium covered by “a vast umbrella” for English football club Manchester United, which will become the biggest stadium in the UK.
Forming part of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area in Machester, the 100,000-seat stadium is set to be built next to the football team’s current 74,197-capacity Old Trafford stadium.
Once complete, the Foster + Partners-designed stadium will surpass the UK’s current largest football stadium, Wembley Stadium, which has a capacity of 90,000.
Renders show the stadium covered in Manchester United’s signature red colour, enveloped by a tent-like structure that extends over public outdoor space.
“The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square,” said Foster + Partners founder Norman Foster.
“The outward-looking stadium will be the beating heart of a new sustainable district, which is completely walkable, served by public transport, and endowed by nature,” he continued.
“It is a mixed-use miniature city of the future – driving a new wave of growth and creating a global destination that Mancunians can be proud of.”
Foster + Partners’ design is to be built next to Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, which has been the team’s home ground for 115 years.
It will aim to enhance the experience for visiting football fans with improved views of the pitch and acoustics.
“This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today, with incredible regional and national significance,” said Foster.
“It all starts with the fans’ experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar.”
Referencing Manchester United’s trident emblem, the tent-like structure will be propped up by three masts.
Foster + Partners plans to complete the stadium in five years by using prefabricated elements transported via the Manchester Ship Canal – a waterway linking Manchester to the Irish Sea.
“Three towering masts hold up the stadium’s canopy, embodying the club’s trident emblem and creating a distinctive presence on the skyline,” Foster + Partners head of studio Nigel Dancey told Dezeen.
“Teamwork and the city’s renowned spirit of innovation are cornerstones of this remarkable project, which would look to embrace the network of the Manchester Ship Canal and cutting-edge prefabrication technologies to build the stadium in record time.”
Foster + Partners’ stadium will aim to have facilities that make it one of the best football venues in the world while paying homage to the ground’s history.
The wider regeneration of Old Trafford intends to deliver 92,000 jobs and 17,000 homes to the area.
“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford,” said Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport,” Ratcliffe added.
“By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.”
Other stadiums recently unveiled around the world include a sunken football pitch in Egypt by Gensler and Populus’s plans to revamp the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium at Lake Como.
The image is courtesy of Foster + Partners.
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