About Old Trafford The Theatre of Dreams as it is more commonly known is the biggest club stadium in the United Kingdom, and one of the biggest in Europe. The stadium has been redeveloped over the past twenty years, initially transforming from stand to all seater, and then the demolition and rebuilding of three of the four stands.
What you see today is a magnificent cathedral of football, with the North stand souring up into the sky as a monument for miles around. The only stand that is still to be redeveloped is the main stand – the south stand. This would prove to be problematic due to the existence of the railway line as well as the changing rooms and press area. However, plans have been submitted to convert this into a two tier stand which would take the capacity to 82,000, although no date has been set for this work to commence.
The stadium is one of the few 5 Star UEFA venues in Europe and has been given the honour of hosting a Champions League final when AC Milan beat Juventus in 2004 here. The stadium was also home to the England team for the most part when Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt, and still hosts the odd FA Cup semi-final. After initially opening as Manchester United’s home in 1910, the stadium hosted the FA Cup final in 1911 and 1915. In March 1939 the FA Cup semi-final between Wolves and Grimsby Town attracted a crowd of 76,962 which is still (just) the record attendance at the stadium. Bombing during the Second World War closed the stadium from 1941 to 1949 and the club moved in with neighbours Manchester City.
Today the stadium is an awesome sight on a matchday. Views are excellent from all seats, although those sitting in the upper tier of the North stand may need binoculars. Legroom is generous as too are the wide concourses. The noise on a match day is not as passionate as you will find in Barcelona or AC Milan but it is impressive all the same. The stadium has a very impressive museum that is open daily, and can be combined with a half hourly tour of the stadium taking in the changing rooms, players lounge, dug outs and a walk down the tunnel all for £9.
Who plays there? Old Trafford is home to one of the world’s greatest clubs, Manchester United. Whilst Real Madrid, Barcelona or Liverpool may lay claim to the title, nobody could complaint at their title of the best supported club in the world. This fact is borne out by the constant demand for seats in the Theatre of Dreams, which despite being increased by 40% in recent years, is still not enough to satisfy the potential fans.
The club are also one of the richest in the world today (although since the take over of the Glaziers in 2005 they have lost their top spot) - quite a way from their humble beginnings as Newton Heath in 1878 - a works team from the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway company. The club officially changed their name in 1902, and at the same time adopted the famous red and white kit. The club spent its formative years bouncing between the top two divisions after moving into their new stadium in 1910. After the Second World War, Matt Busby was appointed manager of the club and began a revolution that would lay the foundations for the success we see today. In the mid 1950's the club started to produce a string of young players who could have been destined for greatness including Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton. In 1957 the club won the league championship and almost stole the double, losing to Aston Villa in the FA Cup Final. The following season they entered the European Cup for the first time, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Real Madrid.
On the 6th February 1958 the team had played a European game in Belgrade against Red Star. On a refuelling stop in Munich the plane crashed due to bad weather and a number of these great players perished including Edwards. The team was decimated and rumours circulated that they may actually fold. The club did go on to finish 2nd in the team though. In the 1960's the team continued to be rebuilt with new stars such as George Best and Denis Law, and they reached their emotional nadir at Wembley in 1968 when they became the first English team to win the European Cup by beating Benfica 4-1.
The 1970 and 1980's were a bleak time for the club with few honours earnt. In 1974 the team were actually relegated for the first time in forty years. Managers such as Dave Sextons, Tommy Docherty and Ron Atkinson were brought in to try and revive the club's fortunes, and apart from the occasion FA Cup victories (in 1977 and 1985) the club failed to deliver the major prize.
In November 1986 Alex Ferguson was appointed the new manager, replacing Atkinson who had been sacked. In his first full season the club finished 2nd in the league, but this was the high point until 1990 when the club at last won some silverware by beating Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final. This was to be the turning point in the clubs history as the following season they went on to win the European Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam. The following season with Eric Cantona installed as the fans favourite, the team broke their 25 year hoodoo on the title and took their first Premiership title. Since that day in May 1993 the club have gone on to win eight further titles as well as six FA Cups and the League Cup. Their finest season came in 1999 when they won the domestic double and the European Champions League by beating Bayern Munich with two goals in injury time versus Bayern Munich. That team containing such home grown talent as Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville was probably the finest team that the club has produced.
In the last few seasons the club invested heavily on the back of the takeover by the Glazier family and brought in talent such as Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick and Louis Saha although this has been tempered by the ruthless approach of Ferguson in selling so called stars such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, David Beckham and Jaap Stam. Last season the team played some of the best football we have seen in decades and were worthy winners of the Premiership, although again disappointed in Europe. Since the final in 1999 they have failed to reach a major final - something that does not sit very comfortably with the club and supporters alike.
How to get there Old Trafford is located around 3 miles south east of the city centre in the Salford Quays redevelopment area. As the stadium has been expanded, so have the public transport options. However the majority of fans drive to Old Trafford and use the numerous private car parks that open close to the ground on match day and charge between £10 and £20. The best options are around Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
The Metrolink tram network runs services every few minutes from Piccadilly down to Trafford Bar and Old Trafford which are the nearest stations to the ground. The latter is located next to the cricket ground and is a 5 minute walk to the stadium – simply come out of the station and walk straight ahead. After the game huge queues build up here and ticket inspectors ensure that all passengers have a valid ticket before boarding.
Another option is to head for the area around the Imperial War Museum where parking is much cheaper and safer and the stadium is a 15 minute walk away. The stadium has its own station, built alongside the South Stand, although queues to get on trains after the match build up very quickly indeed.
For an excellent overview of who plays where in Manchester, go to Footiemap.com to view their comprehensive map page for the city.
Getting a ticket Despite its huge capacity, Manchester United have over 100,000 club members who get priority in booking seats for each game. On a normal league game there are around 10,000 seats made available to club members and so as a neutral you are often better of trying to get a ticket for the away team. Ticket prices are very reasonable with the most expensive seats in the North or South stand centre being £42 and the cheapest in the East and West lower being £25 each. If you get a chance to get a ticket then all seats offer a fantastic view, although you are very high up indeed if you are in the North stand upper tier.
Manchester United do offer special packages that include a ticket hotel for the night and a tour of the stadium for around £199 per person per night or without the hotel from £119. This is often the only way to get to see a league match at the stadium. For Champions League matches the situation is slightly different. Season ticket holders often do not take up their allocation of seats for the group games and these are put on sale via the website.
Getting around The centre of Manchester is very compact and it is easier to walk around than use any form of transport. However, if you want to reach some of the outlying areas then you have a choice of rail, bus or tram. The Tramlink network has been extensively developed over the past 15 years to cut through the congestion around the city and serve the major areas of interest. The network is 23 miles long, serving 37 stops from Bury in the north to Altrincham in the south. Travelcards can be purchased from the machines at every stop. Buses supplement those areas where trams do not run to. A single ticket for all types of journey cost £1.90, and daily travelcards start from £5.
Manchester International Airport is slowly growing to be one of the biggest in Europe. It has over 100 airlines that use it daily handling around 22million passengers last year flying to over 200 destinations. It also handles a number of domestic flights including AirBerlin from London Stansted, Air Southwest from Bristol, Newquay and Plymouth, American Airlines from London Heathrow, BMIBaby from Heathrow, Glasgow and Edinburgh, BA from London City, Gatwick and Heathrow, Flybe from Belfast, Exeter, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Norwich and Southampton and finally VLM from London City.
The easiest way to reach the city centre is by train. There is a dedicated station at the airport which runs services every 20 minutes into Manchester Piccadilly and onwards. Plans are being considered at the moment for a metrolink extension as well. National Express coaches also stop at the airport and can take you as far away as London. A taxi would cost around £20 to the city centre. The airport is also home to one of the last remaining Concorde’s that can be visited by calling 0161 489 3932
