Revealed: How fans feel about the stadium project

More than 50,000 fans took part in the survey, which was distributed to Season Ticket holders, United Members, and Executive Club members in September – the highest engagement rate of any fan research conducted by the club. 

The results showed that a new-build stadium at Old Trafford is the preference for the majority of fans who responded – with 52 per cent declaring support for that option. Redevelopment of the existing stadium was preferred by 31 per cent of fans, with a further 17 per cent declaring themselves unsure.

The data showed the strongest support for a new-build stadium to be among current season ticket holders, with the desire for a new stadium increasing with the age of a season ticket holder. Younger fans lean more towards redeveloping Old Trafford.

The results will help the club understand the wishes of fans as feasibility work continues on the options for Old Trafford. Preserving history and heritage, increasing ticket availability, and enhancing the atmosphere were among the priorities expressed by fans in the survey. 

In addition to ongoing engagement with our Fans’ Advisory Board and Fans’ Forum, the club has also held a series of focus group meetings with fans drawn from all segments of the supporter base to provide further insight on fans’ perspectives. 

Rick McGagh, Director of Fan Engagement at Manchester United, said: “We are delighted that this survey received the most responses in the club’s history. It shows how important this work is, and to have this level of engagement at this stage is a really positive place to start.

“We know how important our home is to fans and we need to listen to them and gain all their views and insights in order to develop the world-class stadium they deserve.

“We are able to view the results through different lenses to understand if our season ticket holders feel differently about anything than say our official members. And if younger fans have different views to older fans. This insight is incredibly helpful and allows the project team to understand the differences as well as the commonality in our fanbase.”

The first phase of fan consultation continues today and tomorrow when hundreds of fans are expected at Old Trafford for a number of Town Hall sessions to understand more about the project and ask questions directly to members of the project team, including stadium district architects Foster + Partners. 

The insights from this initial round of fan consultation work will feed into the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force options report that will be delivered to the club at the end of the year.

More information on the fan consultation process and survey results will be shared later this year.