United offered the chance of making Eastlands their home
-
United planned to ditch Old Trafford for Eastlands - Exclusive
Manchester United fans may have nicknamed the City of Manchester Stadium the “Council House” – but the Reds were once offered the chance of making Eastlands their home.
United were approached about the possibility of returning to their roots in the east of the city when Manchester was awarded the 2002 Commonwealth Games, according to a new book.
It was only the intervention of Sir Alex Ferguson that halted the plan – even though Manchester city council were prepared to build an 80,000-capacity stadium to bring the club back to the city of their birth.
Author Gary James unearthed the astonishing blueprint to take United back into Manchester from Trafford for the updated version of his book ‘Manchester – A Football History.’
James reveals how United were tempted to quit Old Trafford because the famous old stadium could not meet demand for tickets in the late 1990s with its 55,000 capacity.
A contingency plan was even put in place that would allow United to only play big Champions League fixtures at the new stadium.
Labour MP Graham Stringer, who was leader of Manchester City Council at the time, is quoted as saying: “Discussions with United were serious and went to a high level – the highest level.
“The view was that if United could move to the stadium then the capacity could be around 80,000.
“It seemed perfectly logical in the 90s that United should consider the move. Of course, there were some significant issues to overcome.
“The biggest was undoubtedly the significance of Old Trafford to supporters.
“I fully understand why United decided not to make a permanent move, but Old Trafford’s capacity was too small. The idea developed that perhaps European games could be played at the new stadium.
“United would play at Old Trafford for domestic fixtures and move to the new stadium for European games.”
Ferguson, though, felt the plan would backfire – as it did on Arsenal when they took Champions League games to Wembley from Highbury to attract bigger crowds.
Stringer adds: “Alex Ferguson was involved in the discussions and I think he, quite rightly, considered the impact on players.
“The possibility of switching venue every few days could possibly disrupt players.” City moved to Eastlands in 2003 after spending 80 years at Maine Road.
Having such a state-of-the-art stadium was a big attraction to Sheikh Mansour when he instantly made City the richest club in the world with his 2008 takeover.
But the council plot will come as a big shock to both Reds and Blues in Manchester.
United supporters, who were founded as Newton Heath, ridicule City for having a 48,000-capacity stadium that is still owned by the council.
But City fans revel in the fact Old Trafford is situated outside Manchester city boundaries – the reason why the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ poster designed when Carlos Tevez joined the club from United caused such a stir.