Friday 17 October 2025 00:01
Collette Roche has highlighted the “once in a lifetime opportunity” to develop a new stadium at Old Trafford which would act as a catalyst for regeneration of the surrounding area.
The chief operating officer of Manchester United said the project would correct decades of under-investment in the area around Old Trafford by creating a sports, entertainment and business district with a new world-class stadium at its heart.
“It’s very early in the journey, but it’s an amazing opportunity that we’ve got, not just for Manchester United, but for the region,” Roche told the We Built This City podcast.
“Whilst we’ll build a stadium that’s great for our team and for the club and our fans, it’s so much more than that.”
Collette Roche: “It’s not just a Manchester United vision. It’s a vision for the region.”
A study by the consultancy Oxford Economics found that the project could add £7.3bn annually to the UK economy and create 92,000 jobs.
The study predicted that the development has the potential to lead to 17,000 new homes and 1.8m additional visitors each year.
“It’s become a regional project and probably will be one of the biggest in Europe. As such, it’s bigger than us at Manchester United. So, we needed to get support and work with a lot of stakeholders across Manchester and central government.”
A Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) – a statutory body with powers to help drive forward large-scale developments – is being set up to help deliver the project, led by chair-designate Lord Sebastian Coe.
“It’s not just a Manchester United vision. It’s a vision for the region. It’s a vision for Trafford and it’s a vision for Manchester, and that’s why [Mayor] Andy Burnham and Trafford Council are really keen to work with us.
“There’s no point building the best and biggest stadium in the UK and it being on an island where you can’t get to it because the transport links aren’t there, or people can’t come on a non-match day, or local businesses can’t be part of.
“So our ask of the government is that they support, not the stadium build, but support the infrastructure and the regeneration of the area.
“And when we’ve looked at it really closely, it actually ticks so many boxes for the government around their growth strategy. So it’s very easy for us to use this as a catalyst to help deliver the government plans.”
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Friday 17 October 2025 00:01
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