The potential demolition of Old Trafford has sparked a stern caution from Richard Keys, who has referenced West Ham United’s experience as a cautionary tale for Manchester United.
A special committee, including Manchester United’s new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and former Olympic athlete Sebastian Coe, has been established with the ambitious goal of creating a state-of-the-art football stadium in Manchester. This group, spearheaded by Coe, intends to not only demolish Old Trafford but also revitalize the area around it, according to talkSPORT.
Sebastian Coe, known for his significant role in the development and design of the London Stadium, as well as his recent efforts to preserve the athletics track at West Ham’s Stratford residence, has come under scrutiny from Richard Keys.
Keys has openly advised Manchester United to keep their distance from Coe when considering their stadium redevelopment plans:
“The one thing I would caution, Andy, is that Seb Coe might not be the best choice for involvement in this project. While I hold Coe in high regard, his previous involvement with the London Stadium—a stadium meant to serve both athletics and football—resulted in a venue that simply isn’t suitable for football.”
Keys raises a valid concern, as the London Stadium has been criticized by West Ham fans primarily for the significant distance between the stands and the pitch. The solution, which would involve taking full control of the former Olympic Stadium for a thorough football-centric redevelopment, highlights a major oversight: the initial failure to design the stadium with a post-2012 Games football conversion in mind—a project that was under Coe’s leadership for the London Olympics.
With Manchester United contemplating the demolition of Old Trafford in favor of erecting a new stadium, Keys’s comments serve as a pointed reminder to Ratcliffe and his team to consider alternative guidance, given Coe’s controversial legacy with the London Stadium.
