Manchester United will not fix Old Trafford’s infamous leaky roof until a decision has been on whether there will be a full stadium rebuild.
Dubbed the “Theatre of Streams” on social media, the world got yet another up close and personal look at the decay on full show at United’s famous old stadium during the home side’s 0-1 loss to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
As the final moments of another desperately disappointing performance approached, thunder and heavy rain descended from the Manchester sky.
If ever an image befitted a football club, the world’s cameras caught water racing off the Old Trafford roof at the south-west corner of the ground.
The Mirror report that United have no plans to act until a decision is made on whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe will get his dream of building a new “Wembley of the North” to be built adjacent to the current Old Trafford stadium.
In an embarrassing day on and off the pitch, “several areas, including the players’ tunnel, away dressing room and seated areas” all succumbed to flooding.
United commented that “the waterfall-like flood in the south-west corner was caused by a high volume of water entering the siphonic roof drainage system so rapidly it caused it to overflow. Despite that, the club has acknowledged there are sporadic leaks in the Old Trafford roof, due to holes from wear and tear, which becomes a major issue during periods of heavy rainfall like Sunday.”
The outlet reports that the Red Devils have looked into the feasibility of a new roof but it would be an expensive undertaking, especially if it is eventually decided that a new stadium will be built.
A taskforce to discuss the possibility of building a new stadium was set up in March and held its first meeting in April.
It was chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe and other members include Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Sara Todd, Chief Executive of Trafford Council, and Gary Neville, former captain of Manchester United.
The options on the table “are knocking down Old Trafford and building a new state-of-the-art stadium on the same site, a project which could cost as much as £3billion.”
“Another option is to refurbish Old Trafford, which would not be as costly as razing the stadium to the ground, or take as long as building a completely new arena. Revamping Old Trafford has been estimated to cost around £1bn, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is leading the task force, is understood to prefer building a brand new stadium.”
Whilst United fans will certainly be excited about the prospect of a new stadium it is worrying that the club seems unwilling to spend again on something which seems so basic. It seems fans have seen this type of inaction before.
A decision on a new stadium could be months away and certainly years away from completion. Therefore, it hardly sends out a positive message that the new owners are not prepared to shell out to fix such a clear problem in the present.
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