United to face governmental opposition in latest setback to ambitious new stadium plans – report

Manchester United’s plan to help fund their new stadium could be under threat from the government. New stadium United made headlines across the world at the beginning of the year when they announced that they would be building a new stadium. The “Wembley of the North” as Sir Jim Ratcliffe calls it, would be the biggest in the country at 100,000 seats. The club is trying to buy land close to the current stadium, so that they can push forward with plans to start constructing the massive new project. Nonetheless, they have been faced with frustration as they cannot agree a price with the owners of the land. Further frustration The Guardian newspaper reports that United are facing further setbacks with their plans to build what promises to be an iconic stadium. It is stated that, “Manchester United’s plans to sell personal seat licences to supporters to help fund the £2 billion redevelopment of Old Trafford has been put under threat by the government’s clampdown on ticket touts.” The report continues that “The Guardian has learned that the proposed PSL model being considered by United permitted seat licence holders to sell on their match or season tickets at a profit to other fans.” The issue is that earlier this week, the government announced plans “to outlaw the sale of sports and music tickets at inflated prices in legislation due to be introduced in next year’s king’s speech.” Moreover, it has been suggested by government sources that, they would oppose any moves by United to introduce a secondary market for seat licences. What is it? Buying a PSL would give supporters the opportunity to purchase specific seat at the new ground for a set period. Controversially, they would also have to pay a separate fee for their season ticket. Such licences are typical in American sports like the National Football League (NFL) but more of a rarity in British sporting tradition. The money raised is often used to part-fund new stadium builds like United plan to do. The Guardian explains that, “it is envisaged that PSLs would only be sold for the most exclusive, premium seats at the new stadium, with other areas being reserved for ordinary fan.” Featured image Christopher Furlong via Getty Images – The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.