Old Trafford was hit with a mice infestation; food hygiene inspectors found droppings in two places and reduced the hygiene rating from four to two out of five. The situation is said to be due to the stadium’s location, which is between the railway line and a canal.
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What is wrong at Old Trafford?
The club is definitely under a rebuild process where not just the management and players are being upgraded but also the stadium and training facilities are taken care of. Several months back we saw leakage in the stadium after a game due to rain, which brought Old Trafford into the limelight.
Old Trafford is almost 115 years old now, and various opinions about it are formed each season. Some say it should be renovated, and some want the vintage place to stay as it is and have a new stadium somewhere else.
The Daily Telegraph reported in February that Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to create a new stadium for United. He wants an advanced and modern stadium for the club that will be free from all the reported issues like water clogging, leakage, and hygiene.
Cristiano Ronaldo, in his infamous interview, once exposed the conditions of the facilities of the stadium. He said there have been no advancements since he left the club last time, which shows the club stopped investing in infrastructure.
Old Trafford has been renovated 8 times in its lifetime, with 2006 being the last year of renovation. It has been more than 18 years since the last developments. The iconic place deserves to be clean and hygienic, for which a proper renovation is definitely needed.
INEOS’s vision towards development
The new ownership and hierarchy at the club want to take the club to the level where it once used to be. Their first priority was upgrading the brand of football on which they are working. The infrastructure is also a priority, as the co-owner wants to spend around £50 million on advancing the training facilities in Carrington.
Regarding the development of ‘The Theatre of Dreams,’ a lot of probabilities occur.
If the stadium gets renovated properly with sustainable hygiene and cleanliness, then it requires a minimum amount of several months or even more than a year. The club has to plan accordingly and play in some other stadium at that period of time.
The other possibility is keeping Old Trafford as it is and building a separate stadium close to it. In that case the iconic stadium can be turned into a museum. However, the pest control would be done regularly either way.
What’s Next for Man United
Old Trafford will receive pest control facilities 4-5 times a week so that the whole hygiene issue is taken care of properly. The next home game is against Newcastle on 31st December; prior to that, the club wants to improve the conditions. Keeping in mind the price changes of matchday tickets, the management has a huge pressure on them.
