Old Trafford

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	Capacity		76,212
	Opened		Manchester United
	Owner		1910
	Construction Cost		£90,000 (1909)

Old Trafford, given the nickname The Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton, is an all-seater football ground in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester, England and the home of Manchester United F.C. The ground has been the club’s permanent residence since 1910, with the exception of an eight year absence from 1941 to 1949 following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War. During this period, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals, Manchester City. The stadium is located approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent Manchester Metrolink tram station.

The ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches as a neutral venue, as well as hosting several England international fixtures whilst Wembley was under reconstruction. It also hosted matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup and Euro 96, as well as the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final. Outside of football, Old Trafford has hosted Super League’s Grand Final since the rugby league’s adoption of playoffs in 1998.

Facilities

The Old Trafford pitch is surrounded by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as the North, East, South and West Stands. Each stand has at least two tiers, with the exception of the South Stand, which only has one tier due to construction restrictions. The lower tier of each stand is split into Lower and Upper sections, the Lower sections having been converted from terracing in the early 1990s.

Formerly known as the United Road stand, the North Stand runs over the top of United Road. The stand is three tiers tall, and can hold about 26,000 spectators, the most of the four stands. As well as seated fans, the North Stand can also play host to a number of fans in executive boxes. The North Stand opened in its current state in 1996, having previously been a single-tiered stand. As the ground’s main stand, the North Stand houses many of the ground’s more popular facilities, including the Red Café (a Manchester United theme restaurant/bar) and the Manchester United museum and trophy room. Originally opened in 1986, the Manchester United museum was located in the South-East corner of the ground until it moved to the redeveloped North Stand in 1998. The Museum was opened on 11 April 1998 by Pelé and, according to the club’s website, it attracts over 200,000 visitors every year.

Opposite the North Stand is the South Stand, formerly Old Trafford’s main stand. Although only a single-tiered stand, the South Stand contains most of the ground’s executive suites, and also plays host to any VIPs who may come to watch the match. Members of the media are seated in the middle of the Upper South Stand to give them the best view of the match. The television gantry is also located in the South Stand, meaning that the South Stand is the one that gets shown on television least often. Television studios are located at either end of the South Stand, with the club’s in-house television station, MUTV, in the East studio and other television stations, such as the BBC and Sky, in the West studio.

The dugout is located in the centre of the South Stand, and is raised above pitch level to give the manager and his coaches an elevated view of the game. Each team’s dugout flanks the old players’ tunnel, which was used until 1993. The old tunnel is the only remaining part of the original 1910 stadium, having survived the bombing that destroyed much of the stadium during the Second World War. On 6 February 2008, the tunnel was renamed the Munich Tunnel, as a memorial for the 50th anniversary of the 1958 Munich air disaster. The current tunnel is located in the South-West corner of the ground, and doubles as an entrance for the emergency services. In the event that large vehicles require access, the seating above the tunnel can be raised by up to 25 feet. The tunnel leads up to the players’ dressing room, via the television interview area, and the players’ lounge.

Perhaps the most famous stand at Old Trafford is the West Stand, also known as the Stretford End. Traditionally, the stand is where the hard-core United fans are located, and also the ones who make the most noise. Originally designed to hold 20,000 fans, the Stretford End was the last stand to be covered and also the last remaining all-terraced stand at the ground before the forced upgrade to seating in the early 1990s. When the second tier was added to the Stretford End, many fans from the old “K” Stand moved there, and decided to hang banners and flags from the barrier at the front of the tier. So ingrained in Manchester United culture is the Stretford End, that Denis Law was given the nickname “King of the Stretford End”, and there is even a statue of Law located on the concourse of the stand’s upper tier.

The Manchester United club shop has had six different locations since it was first opened. Originally, the shop was a small hut located near to the railway line that runs alongside the ground. The shop then gradually moved along the length of the South Stand, stopping first opposite where away fans enter the ground, and then taking up residence in the building that would later become the club’s merchandising office. A surge in the club’s popularity in the early 1990s led to another move, this time to the forecourt of the West Stand. With this move came a great expansion and the conversion from a small shop to a “megastore”. The most recent moves came in the late 1990s, as the West Stand required room to expand to a second tier, and that meant the demolition of the Megastore. The store moved to temporary accommodation opposite the East Stand, before taking up a 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) permanent residence in the ground floor of the expanded East Stand in 2000. The floor space of the current Megastore is actually owned by United’s kit sponsors, Nike, who operate the store.

The East Stand at Old Trafford was the second to be converted to a cantilever roof, following the North Stand. It is also commonly referred to as “K Stand” or the Scoreboard End, as it was the location of the scoreboard. The East Stand can currently hold nearly 12,000 fans, and is the location of both the disabled fans section and the away section. The disabled section provides for up to 170 fans, with free seats for carers. The K Stand fans are renowned for their vocal support for the club, and a large array of chants and songs, though many of them have relocated to the second tier of the West Stand. The East Stand has a tinted glass façade, behind which the club’s administrative centre is located. These offices are the home to the staff of Inside United, the official Manchester United magazine, and the club’s official website, as well as the club’s other administrative departments. Images and advertisements are often emblazoned on the front of the East Stand, most often advertising Nike products, though a tribute to the Busby Babes was displayed in February 2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. Above the Megastore is a statue of Sir Matt Busby, Manchester United’s longest-serving manager to date. There is also a plaque dedicated to the victims of the Munich air disaster on the south end of the East Stand, while the Munich Clock is located at the junction of the East and South Stands.

The pitch at the ground measures approximately 106 metres (116 yd) long by 69 metres (75 yd) wide, with a few metres run-off space on each side. The centre of the pitch is actually about nine inches higher than the edges, allowing surface water to run off more easily. As at many modern grounds, 10 inches (25 cm) under the pitch is an undersoil heating system, comprised of 23 miles (37 km) of plastic piping. Alex Ferguson often requests that the pitch be relaid, most notably half way through the 1998-99 season, at a cost of about £250,000 each time. The grass at Old Trafford is watered regularly, though less on wet days, and mowed three times a week from April to November and once a week from November to March.

In the mid-1980s, when Manchester United Football Club owned Manchester’s basketball franchise, there were plans to build a 9,000-seater indoor arena on the site of what is now Car Park E1. However, the chairman at the time, Martin Edwards, did not have the funds to take on such a project, and the basketball franchise was eventually sold.

Future

It has been estimated that for any further development to be attempted on the stadium, specifically the South Stand, which is still only one tier high, development costs would almost equal the £114 million already spent on the stadium in the last fourteen years. This is due to the fact that up to fifty houses would have to be bought out by the club, which would cause a lot of disruption to local residents, and any extension would have to be built over the top of the railway line that runs adjacent to the stadium. Ideally, the expansion would include bringing the South Stand up to at least two tiers and filling in the South-West and South-East quadrants to restore the “bowl” effect of the stadium. Present estimates put the projected capacity of the completed stadium at approximately 96,000, more than the new Wembley Stadium.

Other uses

Old Trafford has been used for various purposes other than football since its construction. Before the construction of the Old Trafford football stadium, the site was used for games of shinty, the traditional game of the Scottish Highlands. During the First World War, the stadium was used by American soldiers for games of baseball and, in 1981, matches of cricket’s Lambert & Butler Cup were held there.

The grand final of rugby league’s Super League has been played at Old Trafford every year since the introduction of the play-off system in 1998; however, the first rugby league match to be played at Old Trafford was held in November 1958, with Salford playing against Leeds under floodlights in front of 8,000 spectators. In 1993, the World Super-middleweight Professional Boxing Championship was held at the ground, with over 40,000 people paying to watch Chris Eubank fight Nigel Benn.

Outside of football, several concerts have been played at Old Trafford, with such big names as Bruce Springsteen, Status Quo, Rod Stewart and Simply Red playing. Even an edition of Songs of Praise was recorded there in September 1994. Old Trafford is also regularly used for private functions, particularly weddings, Christmas parties and business conferences.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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Manchester United FC official website
Old Trafford wikipedia entry
MU Supporters Trust
IMUSA.org fansite
Redissue fansite
Red News fansite
The Football Association
The Premier League Website
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