Manchester United have spent the off-season upgrading their home stadium, the club have confirmed, with Off The Pitch reporting a spend of more than UK20 million (US$24.1 million) on the project, reports, www.sportspromedia.com/.
The renovation work was designed to improve the matchday experience at the Premier League club's Old Trafford home and is part of "continuous improvements" that the sports business publication says will continue into the new season.
Colette Roche, Manchester United's chief operating officer, told Off The Pitch: "We continue to invest in improvements across multiple areas at Old Trafford to enhance the experience for our fans, including security improvements and significant improvements for our disabled fans."
New additions to the 75,000-seater venue include the promised 'atmosphere section' for up to 1,200 fans, situated in the Stretford End first tier, and follows successful fan-led pilot tests over the past two seasons. Improvements have also been made to the concourse environment, which now have more food and beverage kiosks in the Stretford End Right Side.
Several hospitality suites have been freshened up, which Off The Pitch says come as the clubs seek to continually evolve the experience for supporters at British soccer's biggest club stadium.
The club hope to see the investment act as a catalyst for an uplift in revenues, with the report stating that upgrades to a number of VIP suites will deliver a better fan experience and open up the suites for greater use on non-matchdays.
United's senior management told Off The Pitch that they expect these new elements to boost income from games, which apparently accounts for 18 per cent of the club's total annual revenue.
Currently, matchday revenue for the third quarter to 31st March was UK31.1 million (US$37.5 million), a slight increase on the previous quarter. According to the yearly accounts for 2018, 2017 and 2016, matchday revenues were UK109.8 million (US$132.4 million), UK111.6 million (US$134.6 million) and UK106.6 million (US$128.6 million), respectively.
Overall, on the back of third-quarter results in May, Off The Pitch says the Red Devils are forecasting annual revenue of UK615 million (US$742 million) to UK630 million (US$760 million).
The hierarchy at United have also decided to invest in improving the accessible facilities at Old Trafford. A total of 118 new wheelchair positions are reportedly being created, as well as 158 new amenity seats across four locations inside the stadium. The new additions aim to offer a much greater choice of vantage points for disabled fans, both at different levels and price points.
The new accessible facilities are set to be permanently in use from the 2020/21 season, making a total of 278 wheelchair positions and 278 dedicated amenity seats across the venue.
Furthermore, as part of an ongoing commitment to security, spending has reportedly gone into additional security infrastructure around Old Trafford, featuring updates to hostile vehicle mitigation barriers and the CCTV system.
As well as giving a makeover to their famous stadium to boost the fan experience, United have apparently splashed the cash on improving matchday staffing facilities, while general maintenance work and facility improvements have been made too.
The Old Trafford work is part of a number of infrastructure improvements being made by the 13-time Premier League winners. The club are also reportedly spending UK50 million (US$60.3 million) upgrading their training ground at Carrington, with additions including a new academy centre boasting eight full-sized pitches and a mini stadium onsite for youth games.
