Old Trafford (football ground)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Old Trafford | |
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| Theatre of Dreams | |
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| Location | Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England |
| Broke ground | 1909 |
| Opened | 1910 |
| Owner | Manchester United |
| Operator | Manchester United |
| Construction cost | £60m GBP |
| Architect | Archibald Leitch |
| Tenants | |
| Manchester United (FA Premier League) (1910-present) | |
| Seats | |
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Old Trafford (given the nickname The Theatre of Dreams by Sir Bobby Charlton) is a football stadium in the Greater Manchester borough of Trafford, and is the home of Manchester United F.C.. The ground has been United's permanent home since 1910, bar an eight year absence from 1941 to 1949 following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War, during which the club ground-shared with Manchester City at Maine Road. The stadium is located close to Old Trafford cricket ground.
Until the new Wembley Stadium is completed, Old Trafford will have the largest ground capacity of any English football stadium, with a capacity of just over 76,000, and will be joined by Wembley as the only UEFA 5-star stadia in England.
Old Trafford is by far the largest club ground in Britain and is all-seater, as legally required of all higher league British club stadia since the Taylor Report in the early 1990s. The ground's most recent expansion saw the addition of around 9,000 seats by "filling-in" the second tier of the north-west and north-east quadrants of the ground. The South Stand remains the only single-tiered stand, its development hindered by a railway line located directly behind it. Although the line could be built over, at least fifty residential properties would have to be demolished for any expansion to be possible, making improvements to the other stands the cheaper option. Further development, taking the capacity to 96,000, will require this expensive house demolition and engineering. [1]
Part of the new seating was used for the first time on 26 March 2006, when an attendance of 69,070 became a new Premiership record. However, this lasted just 3 days before 69,522 people watched United play West Ham on 29 March, and was re-broken on a frequent basis as more sections of the new quadrants were opened. The latest Premiership attendance record to be set was set on 4 November 2006 when 76,004 spectators saw United beat Portsmouth F.C. 3-0. The stadium's record attendance remains at 76,962, set on 25 March 1939 for a FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.
The ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches (as a neutral venue), and hosted several England international fixtures whilst Wembley was under reconstruction. It also hosted 1966 FIFA World Cup matches, Euro 96 matches and the Champions League final in 2003. With London winning its bid for the 2012 Olympics, the stadium will be used for some preliminary men's and women's football matches during the Summer Games. Since 1998, when rugby league adopted play-offs and a Grand Final to determine the Super League champions, Old Trafford has staged the Grand Final.
Old Trafford was the first English ground to have to install a perimeter fence to counter fan violence and hooliganism in the 1970s.
The ground featured in the 1967 Albert Finney film Charlie Bubbles where a child is disappointed at missing out on fully being involved in the match due to watching from behind the glass window of one of the private boxes.
In its early days, the ground also hosted games of shinty, the traditional sport of the Scottish Highlands. [2]
[edit] External links
- Aerial shot of Old Trafford
- Image Gallery and Additional Information
- Images and Information about stadium history
- Fan Photos from Old Trafford
| Preceded by: Hampden Park Glasgow |
UEFA Champions League Final Venue 2003 |
Succeeded by: Arena AufSchalke Gelsenkirchen |
| Manchester United Football Club |
|---|
| Manchester United F.C. |
| History: pre-1945 | 1945-1969 | 1969-1986 | 1986-1998 | 1998-1999 | 1999-present |
| Busby Babes | Munich air disaster |
| Old Trafford | Stretford End | Manchester derby |
| Glazer takeover |
| MUTV |
Categories: Manchester United F.C. | 2012 Summer Olympic venues | Rugby league stadiums in the United Kingdom | Sports venues in Greater Manchester | FIFA World Cup stadiums | Football venues in England | UEFA 5 star stadiums | UEFA European championship stadiums | FA Premier League venues | Trafford
