The architects' details on a new stadium

We spoke to Patrick Campbell, an architect at Foster + Partners, the group appointed to design the stadium district, to get into the gritty details of what is possible at a new ground. This includes what might happen to essential landmarks at the current Old Trafford stadium, such as the old tunnel - the only remaining structure from the original building, the pitch, the Munich Clock and the Trinity Statue.

Patrick also gave us detail on the prospective acoustics of the ground, what the wider area around the stadium could be used for and how fans will be consulted in the next stages.

Here are the key lines from our conversation...

WHAT WAS THE BRIEF?

“The big challenge we got from Sir Jim Ratcliffe was the idea of generating the finest football stadium in the world. Football-first, all about atmosphere, fan experience, making this the best stadium in the world to come to. So, we’re talking about proximity to the pitch, can you see everything, how can all the fans get together with that fantastic roar to drive on a winning team. So, that’s all about acoustics, sight lines, all about feeling connected, the idea that this is the biggest football stadium in Europe but how can we drive this to be the finest club football ground in the world?”

WHERE WILL THE NEW GROUND BE?

“The idea is to make sure that Manchester United can continue to play in Old Trafford throughout this whole process. So we’re locating the new stadium broadly in the middle of the Bridgewater Canal and the railway line, just to the west of the existing stadium.”

HOW DO YOU AVOID A SOULLESS BOWL?

“It’s a little bit of everything, it’s the secret recipe. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right orientation of the different stands. We’ve got to make it as steep as possible within current regulations. Then there’s proximity to the pitch, we want to bring everyone as close as they possibly can be. We want to make sure the pitch is excellent. So, other clubs have done a retractable pitch strategy, we’re going for a football-first [approach]. We’re not looking at a retractable pitch at the moment.

“Going back to the stands, it’s about the right positions and locations. So, having the right amount of hospitality, taking hospitality out of the Stretford End. That’s a really important piece. How can we get that to be this wall of the Red Army, roaring everyone on?

“But also how do we make sure it feel like it’s an evolution of the original? So, the fan banners, those are really important, to make sure they find a space and continue that heritage of the stadium.”

STEEPNESS OF STANDS

“The UK regulations — and the UK is the forerunner of stadium regulations — are what we’re following and that gets you to a 35-degree angle for the terraces. So, there are other European grounds that are steeper than 35 degrees and, actually, I feel those are quite uncomfortable, because you really do need to watch your step.”

ACOUSTIC SPECIALISTS

“We haven’t fixed the geometry of the bowl yet. We’re trying to figure out all the different permutations. We’re working with acoustic specialists and seating specialists, trying to understand all the parameters that go into our models and tools to work through a bunch of whole different scenarios. We can test with VR goggles to test how this seat looks and that seat looks.

“What we’ve been looking at with acoustic specialists is how much reflection of sound, angling it back, and how much absorption you need. You want to not only see other fans around the stadium, but also hear other fans. So, looking at that, but also looking at the next questions about a screen. And I know this is a big thing. Do we introduce a screen? What sorts of screens do we have? Are they things to show action replays, to help generate atmosphere, sponsorship or do we not have screens at all? These are questions we want to go through.”

WHAT WILL THE CONCOURSES BE LIKE?

"For us, this is about it being the greatest football stadium in the world but it can only be for Manchester United, so it’s got to retain that grit and identity and feel, those materials. So there are things we can improve without making it feel totally different. The concourses need some love. Can we come up with much more flexible concourses, so you might not be sitting with your mates but you can catch up with them? Making it a much more friendly space, much better space for fans to get together but, at the same time, keeping that soul, so the industrial materiality that we’re talking about, they very much take clues from the original Old Trafford building: brick and steel. We’re not looking to make this look like a big shopping mall. This is very much a football stadium."

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO KEY LANDMARKS?

“A lot of communication that happened at the beginning of this process was about what are the most important things and lots and lots of feedback, ideas and conversations. And that’s what we want to get back to. Today has been a great day about talking about the art of the possible, and now what we want to do is to get back into those conversations with the fans and community groups, to understand how this should really take form in the future.”

On the Munich Clock: “We were honoured and privileged to be at the recent memorial. It’s so powerful. It’s so important and it’s non-negotiable. That has to be play such an important part in the design of how this all comes forward. We want to work with fans to understand what are the important pieces and what’s the best way of continuing that beautiful story of the history and making sure we can continue to honour those memories. So it’s about how could they be integrated within the new stadium, or the public spaces around the stadium? Or how we might even add to them. How can we make this [area] even more about Manchester United, about the history and the story which is unique to the club and unlike anything else?”

THE TRINITY STATUE

When discussing the large processional route to the ground, which goes across the current Old Trafford site, Patrick gave a hint at where the Trinity Statue could find its new home.

“That’s 450 metres of tree-lined, activated — museums, shops, bars, hotels, entertainment — route, which links to the route coming from the cricket ground and Wharfside. So that’s maybe where we put the Trinity Statue, so that just as today, it faces towards and honours the stadium.”

WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THE CURRENT OLD TRAFFORD PITCH?

If a new processional route crosses the current pitch, Patrick suggested that an element of the historic turf could be retained as a monument.

“How does the existing stadium form part of the new chapter?” he said.

“What elements of that — is it the penalty spot, the halfway line, how can that manifest itself along the processional route?”

FURTHER FAN CONSULTATION

“This is very much the start of the process. These are some ideas about how we can bring forward the finest football stadium in the world but we’ve got to do that with the fans, the local community and all the different stakeholders, to make sure they see it as their club, their stadium. We’re just custodians. We’re helping to find form in a stadium and we look forward to continuing some amazing consultations.”