Manchester United have announced plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium that co-owner Jim Ratcliffe says would be the "world's greatest" football ground.
The Premier League club have been examining whether to redevelop their Old Trafford home or build a new stadium in the same area in conjunction with the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force.
United have now confirmed their "intention to pursue a new 100,000-seater stadium as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area" as they throw their "support behind the Government's growth agenda".
Scaled models and conceptual images for how the new Old Trafford and surrounding area could look like were revealed on Tuesday morning at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.
"Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world's greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford," Ratcliffe said.
"Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.
"By building next to the existing site, we will be able to preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home.
"Just as important is the opportunity for a new stadium to be the catalyst for social and economic renewal of the Old Trafford area, creating jobs and investment not just during the construction phase but on a lasting basis when the stadium district is complete.
"The Government has identified infrastructure investment as a strategic priority, particularly in the north of England, and we are proud to be supporting that mission with this project of national, as well as local, significance."
The move to a new ground has been backed by former United boss Alex Ferguson.
"Manchester United should always strive for the best in everything it does, on and off the pitch, and that includes the stadium we play in," Ferguson said.
"Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made."
Sebastian Coe chaired the task force and said Tuesday "marks an important step forward in what I firmly believe can be the biggest and most exciting urban regeneration project in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics."
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, formed part of the task force and believes a new stadium at the heart of the area's regeneration can benefit the city, region and entire country.
He said: "If we get this right, the regeneration impact could be bigger and better than London 2012."
United estimate the stadium and wider regeneration project has the potential to add an extra £7.3billion each year to the UK economy, with the possibility to create more than 17,000 homes and 92,000 jobs.
Chief executive Omar Berrada says the club's long-term objective is to have "the world's best football team playing in the world's best stadium".
"We have carefully considered (the task force's) findings, together with the views of thousands of fans and local residents and concluded that a new stadium is the right way forward for Manchester United and our surrounding community," he said.
"We will now embark on further consultation to ensure that fans and residents continue to be heard as we move towards final decisions."
Architects Foster + Partners unveiled concept images of how the venue and surrounding area could look and revealed the ground would be made out of 160 pre-fabricated sections that would halve the build time to five years.
Asked if United were therefore targeting the 2030-31 campaign to move into the new stadium, Berrada said: "Yes."
Berrada confirmed the stadium, along with club areas like fan zones and a megastore, would cost around £2billion.
"We won't be asking for taxpayer money to fund the stadium," he said. "But, at the same time, the stadium, the new build in isolation does not make sense if there’s not an investment in the wider generation project."
Berrada says "all the options are open" at this stage, including stadium naming rights, as United look at how to finance the project.
"It’s still quite early and also as a PLC we can’t speculate too much about the funding," he said.
"But what I would say is the new stadium as the centrepiece of the wider regeneration project is a very attractive investment opportunity, so we’re quite confident and we’ll be able to find a way to finance the stadium."
Watch Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Digital highlights of games available on RTÉ Sport YouTube and RTÉ.ie and RTÉ News app
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
