Manchester stadium name. Manchester

The Sports Chronicle wrote the day after the stadium opened on February 19, 1910. At that time, Old Trafford shocked the whole world. The stadium building was so beautiful, spacious and created a magical atmosphere. The existence of such a stadium with a capacity of 80,000 people at the beginning of the 19th century was a great sensation. This sports arena soon became the most spectacular place in Great Britain, becoming a shrine, like English football itself.

Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton called the stadium the theater of his dreams. However, Old Trafford is also a symbol of pain; on March 11, 1941, during the Second World War, a German bomb hits the stadium. Almost nine years have passed since the stadium was restored. Since then, Old Trafford has been constantly renovated; in 1989, the stadium could accommodate only 43,000 spectators (the smallest in history). The current capacity is approximately 76,000 seats. In the future, the arena is planned to expand to 96,000 seats, more than at Wembley. Clearly Manchester wants to maintain the greatness of Old Trafford. This is the dream and pride of Manchester United.

In the largest stand (North) of Old Trafford stadium, with a capacity of about 26 thousand spectators, there is the official Manchester United museum, which opened in August 1998. Pele was present at the opening of the museum. The South Stand (the smallest) contains commentary booths and VIP boxes for honored guests, and also has an elevated balcony allowing coaches to view the match. This little balcony is the most recognizable spot in Old Trafford when matches are broadcast on television. But still, the most famous part of the stadium is the Western Stand, where the Red Devils fan section is located. Download

Manchester United's home stadium is called Old Trafford and is located in Trafford Park, part of the Greater Manchester region. In its current state, the stadium seats more than 75 thousand spectators, and according to this indicator it ranks second in England after the world famous Wembley. In addition, Old Trafford is one of two British stadiums that have been awarded the highest rating of 5 stars by UEFA.

The Manchester United football team have played their home matches at Old Trafford for over 100 years, since the stadium was built in 1910. The only break in this period was during the Second World War; from 1941 to 1949, the stadium, which many even then called the Theater of Dreams, did not work, as it was destroyed by fascist bombing. These nine years the team played on the field of the Maine Road stadium, owned by the Manchester City club - the Red Devils' eternal rival in the Manchester Derby.

Where did Manchester United play before Old Trafford?

For the first couple of years of its existence, starting in 1878, the team that we know today as Manchester United was called Newton Helf and played on different pitches, renting them out at one time or another. The club received its first own stadium only in 1880. It was called "North Road Monsall" and was far from ideal. Worse, it was probably the worst football field imaginable. Being surrounded by factories, the arena was constantly shrouded in smoke flying from the factory chimneys. In the summer heat, the alumina platform hardened to the state of stone, and in winter it turned into a viscous and sticky mess. It is not surprising that this stadium was considered one of the worst even at that time. There was not a single team that, having arrived at North Road, did not complain about the unbearable playing conditions. A few years later the club found a new site and moved to Bank Street Stadium in Clayton. However, the situation has hardly improved. The field was passable, but nearby chemical plants scared away spectators with toxic emissions.
In 1902, Newton Helf was going through difficult times, but the team managed to survive financial turmoil, the club was reformed and, having received the new name Manchester United, moved on to new victories. After some time, it became clear that the champion of England in 1908 and the winner of the FA Cup in 1909 was completely uncomme il faut to play home matches on the ugly Bank Street pitch.

Plans for a new stadium for Manchester United

The new stadium was needed like air, so the decision to build its own sports arena did not cause opposition among the team's investors. The idea was great. The management intended to create the best Manchester United stadium in the country, capable of accommodating as many as 100 thousand fans. This figure is still unattainable today, but all this happened, let us remember, 110 years ago. It is not surprising that such a capacity of the stands did not work out. But not because of the inability of the architects. Everything is much more prosaic. There wasn't enough money. The consensus between ambitions and opportunities was the figure of 60 thousand seats for fans. The architect of the Old Trafford stadium was the famous Scottish specialist Archibald Leitch, from whose design such sports arenas emerged, including Hampbden Park in Scotland - the home stadium of the Queen's Park football club, the Ibrox arena in Glasgow, owned by Rangers FC "and Tottenham's home field is London's White Hart Lane.
To build a new stadium in the west of Manchester in an area called Trafford Park, land was purchased, the design of a new arena for 60,000 spectators was approved by investors, and construction began. The date January 22, 1910 is remembered for the fact that on this day United played their last match in history at Bank Street. This was a game with Tottenham Hotspur, which ended with a score of 5:0 in favor of the home team.

New habitat

On February 19, 1910, the team’s wanderings across inconvenient fields ended, and from that day on, the newly rebuilt Old Trafford became its home ground. The then Manchester United stadium bore little resemblance to the place where English football fans gather today. Only one stand of the new arena of the Manchester club was equipped with chairs and a rain canopy; spectators of the other three stands must watch the fights while standing.

Manchester United played its very first game on the new field against Liverpool; unfortunately, it ended in a victory for the guests with a score of 3:4, which slightly spoiled the joy of the opening of the magnificent stadium.
As the largest football arena in Britain at the time, Old Trafford hosted the FA Cup finals in 1911 and 1915. The first record attendance at United's home stadium was recorded in 1920. Then 70,504 tickets were sold for the Manchester United match with Aston Villa. This record stood for almost 20 years, and was only broken just before the outbreak of the Second World War, when 76,962 people turned out to watch the FA Cup semi-final match between Grimsby and Portsmouth.

Ten years away from Old Trafford

Unfortunately, wars do not bypass football facilities either. On March 11, 1941, as a result of an air strike by Hitler's Luftwaffe aircraft on industrial facilities in England in the Trafford Park area, the Manchester United stadium was destroyed almost to the ground. As a result, the team was forced to move home games to a nearby football league-compliant field. Until 1949, Manchester United played at the Etihad Stadium (City of Manchester), owned by the Manchester City team.

As soon as peace was returned to Foggy Albion, the club's management set about reviving Old Trafford. The field was restored first, then they took on the main stand. As soon as the sports arena regained its ability to host guests, Manchester United played its first game in its own walls. On August 24, 1949, 41,748 United fans gathered in the only stand that had been completely renovated by that time to watch the first post-war game of their favorite club at their home stadium. Over time, the remaining stands were also renovated. They were not only restored, but also covered with a roof and partially equipped with seats. The stadium installed the latest lighting systems, the most modern for those years, which allowed the club to hold matches in the dark.

Modern history of the stadium

The next page of transformation at Manchester United's home stadium opens in 1964, when England began preparations for the upcoming 1966 World Cup. At the time, many criticized Old Trafford for its old-fashioned roof design. Therefore, for the 66 World Cup games, the club carried out a total modernization of the northern and eastern sectors, using the most advanced construction technologies at that time. In 1966, Old Trafford hosted three group matches of the World Cup.

Until about the 80s of the last century, up to 58,000 football fans were freely seated in the stands of the stadium, but the reconstruction of the stadium did not stop all this time. In 1970, the stadium again hosted the FA Cup final, this time it was a replay between Chelsea and Leeds. By this time, the fan movement in England had already gained unprecedented momentum, and, in order to avoid incidents with fans, which happened all the time, the management of Manchester United, for the first time in the world, installed fences around the field at the Old Trafford stadium.
After a series of successive reconstructions, by the 1980s all stadium stands were protected from precipitation by a modern roof. Now Old Trafford had both terraced “standing” stands and a huge section with seating.

New requirements for major league stadiums

New reconstruction of the stadium began in the early 1990s. Then, after one of the standing stands collapsed at Hillsbrough Stadium during the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool in 1989, leading to numerous casualties, all English clubs were excluded from European Cups for several years , and they were required to bring stadiums into compliance with safety requirements. In particular, the home arenas of top-division clubs had to do away with stands for watching matches and have only seated areas. This modernization led to a serious reduction in the capacity of the stands. Thus, instead of the previous 60,000, only 44,000 seats remained at the Manchester stadium, which was completely insufficient. Firstly, the team was gaining popularity at an accelerated pace and the number of its fans was growing by leaps and bounds. Secondly, a decrease in space at matches automatically led to a decrease in the profitability of the stadium.

Modern Old Trafford

The demand to eliminate standing bleachers led to new construction. In the mid-90s, Old Trafford was expanded again. At a cost of 19 million British pounds, a fourth stand was added to it. This grandiose building, the three-tier North Stand with a capacity of 26,000 seats, has a height of more than 60 meters and the widest canopy in Europe. The total number of spectators that the Manchester stadium now hosted reached 56,000.

The premises of the new buildings also housed a three-story museum of the Manchester United football club, a spacious room with numerous trophies won by the team over all the years of its existence, the Reds Cafe restaurant, popular among fans and employees of the club, and offices for staff.

Despite the grandeur of the new building, the main stand of the Manchester United stadium remains the South Stand. It is here that you will find benches for the coaches of the opposing teams, their assistants are located nearby, there are also benches for substitutes, sectors for the press and television are located on the southern stand, as well as VIP boxes from where important guests and just rich people watch the matches. We also note the fact that the seats here have a slightly different angle of inclination than in other sectors, which creates better viewing conditions.

The modernization of the stadium's eastern and western stands at the end of the 20th century made it possible to host up to 75 thousand fans at Old Trafford. This is the current capacity of the home stadium of the Manchester United football club.

According to many, Old Trafford is one of the most comfortable sports arenas and, without a doubt, one of the few legendary stadiums whose name is known to almost every football fan in the world.

One of the most popular and evoking strong emotions among fans, both their own and others, is the English football team Manchester United. The history of the great club, famous players and coaches, memorable games - all this attracts a huge number of caring spectators.

The situation is similar at the stadium of this team - Old Trafford. This is one of the most famous football stadiums in the world community, with a history of more than a century. It is not for nothing that the British themselves call the Old Trafford stadium the “Theater of Dreams”, because very often exciting, legendary and as if scripted events take place here.

Old Trafford Stadium is located in the city of Stretford in the Trafford municipal area of ​​Greater Manchester. The road leading to the stadium is named after the great coach Sir Matt Busby. Near the stadium, facing this road, there is a bronze statue of Busby, one of the best coaches as recognized by many authoritative experts.

In addition to Manchester United's home matches, the Old Trafford stadium hosted some matches of the FA Cup, the European and World Championships, and the Champions League. In addition to football battles, Old Trafford also became the venue for rugby, baseball and even boxing competitions. Simply Red, Bon Jovi, Genesis and many other famous performers choose the stadium as a large-scale venue for their performances.

Key dates in history

The history of Old Trafford dates back to 1909, when the management of the Manchester United club decided to build a new stadium. Before this, the club was called Newton Heath and played home matches at other fields, which were in a terrible state.

A huge amount of funds was allocated for these purposes, which is why Manchester United was already called “money bags”. At first, the Old Trafford stadium was a field surrounded by stands - one seated with a roof and three standing ones without a roof. The stadium's capacity was initially expected to be about 80 thousand seats.

The first match here took place on February 19, 1910, when Manchester United hosted Liverpool. And although the hosts lost by a respectable score of 3-4, the Old Trafford stadium was described by spectators using the most superlatives.

Almost immediately after construction, plans began to rebuild the stadium in order to increase the number of seats for spectators. But numerous plans to improve the Old Trafford stadium were curtailed due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

In March 1941, German aircraft carried out an air raid on Manchester, after which most of the stadium was destroyed. It became impossible to play here. The reconstruction of the Old Trafford stadium took almost 10 years, during which time Manchester United was forced to play games at the stadium of its principal rivals Manchester City.

The first meeting at the reconstructed Old Trafford took place on August 24, 1949, where the hosts were able to defeat Bolton Wanderers.

Further reconstruction of the Old Trafford stadium was due to non-compliance with European standards. Roofs were erected over all the stands, floodlights were installed over the arena, and massive columns that obstructed the view were replaced. The number of seats for spectators in one of the stands was also increased, although most of the innovations contributed to a decrease in the number of seats.

Thus, the initial 80 thousand places have now turned into 60 thousand. In the 1990s it was decided that all stadiums would have to be fully seated, further reducing Old Trafford's capacity.

All these events, as well as the growing popularity of the club, led to the decision to expand the Old Trafford stadium. The stands became two- or even three-tiered, and all the former bulky columns were replaced with small cantilever ones. In this form, subject to minor modifications in the form of reorganization of seating, the Old Trafford stadium appears to each of its visitors.

Football arena today

Most recently, in 2010, the Old Trafford stadium celebrated its centenary. And this event, naturally, could not pass unnoticed. On February 19, an exhibition dedicated to the history of the stadium was opened. During one of the matches, spectators could purchase copies of the programs of the very first game at Old Trafford, and a commemorative capsule was laid near the central tunnel of the stadium by relatives of the first players and employees of the Manchester United club.

Now the Old Trafford stadium is a standard football field surrounded by four stands. The North Stand is named after Sir Alex Ferguson, another great mentor of the club, who led it for 25 years..

By the way, the monument to Sir Alex, as his fans call him, can also be found on the territory of the stadium. The most spacious stand (it can accommodate more than 26 thousand people) consists of three tiers. It also houses several administrative offices, a local restaurant and the club's trophy room. Since this stand is considered the main one, it is here that the Manchester United Museum found its refuge, becoming the first among football museums in the world.

Opposite is the South Stand, which was previously the main stand. This is the only single-tier stand at Old Trafford stadium. So far the club does not have the purely technical capabilities to expand it. In the future, it is planned to buy out some of the houses next to the stadium and create several tiers above the railway tracks, which will make Old Trafford the largest stadium in England.

On the South Stand there are places for journalists, television booths, as well as a technical area at some elevation, where it is convenient for coaches to monitor the progress of the match. In the South Stand there is one part of the stadium that survived bombing during the war - this is the old tunnel. 50 years after a sad event in the history of the club - the Munich plane crash, in which the players and employees of the club died - this tunnel was called "Munich".

Another reminder of the victims of that tragedy - a memorial plaque - is located on the East Stand, and between the East and South Stands there is also a Munich clock. The East Stand at OldTrafford stadium is sometimes called the "Scorboard End" because it is where the scoreboard is located.

Fans of the opposing team, as well as people with disabilities, are located here. In total, the stand seats about 12 thousand people. On the ground floor of the East Stand, a huge space is occupied by the club shop, near which is a bronze figure of Sir Meta Busby.

Opposite him in 2008, a monument to the club’s “holy trinity” was unveiled, one of the best attacking trios in the history of world football - George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.

The most famous stand at Old Trafford is the West Stand or Stretford End. This is where the club's most ardent, loud and tough fans are usually located. They are the ones who fill the space of the football arena with emotions that are transmitted to the players. The capacity of the Western Stand is about 20 thousand people.

A little about records

Ardent fans, football connoisseurs, and just people who sometimes turn on sports programs probably know about the records of the Manchester United club. But the attendance records at the Old Trafford stadium are not so widely known.

Thus, the most attended match in the history of the club took place on March 25, 1939, and the owners of the site themselves weren’t even here then. On this day, the FA Cup semi-final took place at the local stadium, in which Grimsby Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers fought.

Then 76,962 people came to the game. After the stadium was made completely seated, the possible number of spectators decreased. After this, the most popular Premier League match between the home team and Blackburn Rovers, held on March 31, 2007, became the most popular. Then 76,098 people wanted to see football.

The lowest attendance was for one of the Second Division meetings, held at « Old Trafford » . Officially, 13 people were present at that match, although there were about 20 thousand spectators in the stands. The thing is that many fans stayed to watch football after the match of their favorite team.

Old Trafford stadium plan

Year of opening: 1910
Capacity: 55,300 seats
Record attendance: 76,962
Plans: increase capacity to 67,000 (beginning of reconstruction - summer 1999, end - 2000). Possible
further expansion of the stadium.

Newton Heath's first stadium (formerly Manchester United) was on North Road, Monsall and was
surrounded by typical northern Victorian industrial buildings. When in 1892
Newton Heath entered the Football League, the pitch at the stadium was considered one of the worst in the championship
and resembled mud baths at one end and stone gravel at the other. The locker rooms were in
half a mile away at the Three Crowns.

In 1893 the club moved to Bank Street, Clayton. The field here was little better than at
North Road. The only real improvement to the stadium was the erection of a seated stand for 1000
places This was made possible thanks to the efforts of J.H Davies, Newton Heath's first benefactor,
who donated £500 of his personal money. On April 4, 1904, the Football League team won
at this stadium the Scottish League team is 2-1.

Davis in 1909 sponsored a huge sum of 60,000 pounds for the purchase and
redevelopment of the Trafford Park site. The new stadium, called Old Trafford, was ready in 1910
United played their last match at Clayton on 22 January that year, beating Spurs 5-0.
Their first game in the new stadium was played in front of 45,000 spectators a month later and
ended in victory for Liverpool.

Clayton Stadium was sold to the Manchester Corporation for £5,000 in January 1909, for
a week before plans for a new stadium are approved by Stretford Council.

Old Trafford seated 80,000 people and had only one stand, where the Home Stand now stands.
Grandstand (Main Stand), but it provided a lot of amenities: rooms for tea drinking, folding
seating and polite employees. The stadium attendance record is the match on December 27, 1920
against Aston Villa, which was attended by 70,504 people, although after the Second World War
war, Manchester United played matches at the Maine Road stadium of neighbors Manchester City, as at Old Trafford
work was carried out to eliminate the destruction caused by German bombings, and
These matches sometimes attracted more than 80,000 spectators. Strictly speaking, a record audience of 76,962
Old Trafford attracted spectators for the 1939 FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton and Grimsby.

After the construction of Old Trafford, it became one of the largest stadiums in England, but by the Second
Worldwide, due to a lack of improvements, it has ceased to be one of the outstanding stadiums in the League. By 1945
year it could no longer be used at all. As a result of a raid on an industrial zone near
Trafford Park on the night of March 11, 1941, German bombs almost razed the stadium to the ground,
essentially destroying the Main Tribune, part of the terraces and burning the field. This fact continues to this day
the ardent fans of other teams (especially Manchester City) are very happy, which is reflected in the club
songs and chants.

After the war, temporary offices were created and United began lengthy reconstruction work,
using Manchester City Stadium for home matches. As the club hardest hit
During the war, United were given £22,278 to remove the rubble and rebuild the stadium.

The club planned to build a large 120,000-seat stadium, but this was prevented by a lack of
funds and instead the Main Grandstand was simply rebuilt. 24 August 1949 United
played their first match at Old Trafford in 10 years; 41,748 people saw the victory over Bolton.

For matches in United European Cups, lighting towers were erected for matches in 1956
in the middle of the week. The first European Cup match under lights at Old Trafford was the semi-final against
Real Madrid on August 25, 1957. United's previous home European Cup matches were played
at Munch Stadium. City.

The first league game under floodlights was played on 25 March 1957 against Bolton in
presence of the largest audience at a League match that year: 60,826 and Manchester United lost 0-2.

As United entered the golden era of the 1960s, Old Trafford underwent a major modernization.
A roof was built over the Stretford End stand in 1959, providing shelter for 22,000
standing fans if the weather turned bad.

Old Trafford is the best example in England of how effectively a club can use
long-term plan for the development of its stadium. This plan was created in 1964 by the architect
Atherden Fuller, who envisioned 52,000 for the stadium
mostly seated, but with standing sections in front of two opposite stands. This
the plan was carried out over the next 30 years and was completed with the restructuring
Stretford End in 1993.
In 1964, work began on the reconstruction of the stadium for the 1966 World Cup. After them
When completed (at a cost of £350,000), only one part of the stadium remained without a roof:
"Scoreboard End" This was corrected in 1973 and the next step in reconstruction was
reconstruction of the roof of the Main Grandstand. 3 Third Group matches were played at Old Trafford
World Cup, this happened exactly 40 years after the first international match here -
in 1926 England-Scotland, in which the visitors won 1-0.

Bradford City won their first and only FA Cup at Old Trafford.
beating Newcastle 1-0 in a replay in 1911. Chelsea beat Leeds here in 1970
Cup final replay, the first since Wembley was built. United Stadium has only been there once
selected to host the Cup final (not counting replays) - this happened in 1915,
The rivals were Chelsea and Sheffield United. This game is called "Khaki Finale"
because many of the 49,557 fans were soldiers, or just demobilized, or
going to the front. The selection of the Cup Final venue in favor of United has been completed
the nineteen-year hegemony of the Crystal Palace stadium as a cup arena
Finals.

In the summer of 1992, the club began renovations to the stadium, which included changes to the Stretford End,
which reduced Old Trafford's capacity to 34,000. This created problems for the club, because
average attendance in previous years was over 40,000 people.

Old Trafford Stadium Capacity: Review of a Real 'Theater of Dreams'

There were no seats for guest fans,
and those United fans who were lucky enough to get a ticket were forced to pay for it
more to compensate for the reduced capacity. The move caused outrage among fans
and they created a pressure group called "HOSTAGE" (Season Ticket Holders Against Rough
operation). However, after the completion of the reconstruction, Old Trafford confirmed its status as
one of the best stadiums in the world and again won the admiration of players and fans.

The new West Stand, or Stretford End as most fans call it, was
completed for the start of the 1993/94 season and gave the stadium a "bowl" appearance.

Following the adoption of new standards for football stadiums in
England, United were forced in 1994 to make Old Trafford completely seated, and
its capacity was reduced to just 44,594 (although it was still larger than some
or another stadium). Two years after the completion of the general
stadium renovation plan, Manchester United demolished the North Stand and
in its place they erected a huge three-tier monster with 25,500 seats, including two levels
luxury boxes, the total number of which has reached 180. The new grandstand rises above its
single-tier neighbors, but its 55-meter wide roof (the longest in the world) slopes down
almost to the level of other roofs. Old Trafford is the largest stadium in England (not counting Wembley and
Twickenham), but now the club has a new plan, after which the stadium's capacity will be
will reach 86,000 (by extending the upper two tiers of the North Stand along the entire length of the field).
So far, United have spent £43 million since 1994, but still have annual profits of around
£20 million, they can definitely afford it.

In the summer of 1996, Old Trafford hosted matches of one of the groups and the semi-finals of the European Championship.

© 1999 English football, © Roman Sinyakov, Obninsk

Old Trafford, also known as the Theater of Dreams, is a football stadium located in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. These words were written on the opening day of Old Trafford in 1910. Manchester United have just moved from their old stadium on Bank Street in Clayton to a new one in the east side of Manchester. Built in 1909 for the then astronomical sum of £60,000, the stadium had stands on three sides of the field, and the main one was seated and had a roof. Old Trafford was designed by renowned Scottish designer Archibald Lane, who also designed the stands at Hampden Park, Ibrox and White Hart Lane. It hosted the FA Cup finals in 1911 and 1915, and in 1920 a record attendance of 70,504 was set for a game with Aston Villa. The FA Cup semi-final with Portsmouth in 1939 surpassed this achievement with 76,962 people. During the Second World War the stadium was badly damaged and for a time United played at Maine Road, the home of local rivals Manchester City. Old Trafford hosted the World Cup in 1966 and the FA Cup final replay between Chelsea and Leeds took place here in 1970.

Old Trafford was the first stadium to install fencing around the pitch to prevent possible crowd disturbances. Soon all remaining three sides were covered with a roof, but the supports greatly reduced visibility. In the 1960s, before the World Cup, renovations to the stands on the north and east sides began. There was now a standing area in the front and seating in the back. Over time, almost the entire stadium was renovated and the pinnacle of renovation in 1994 was the Stretford End. In the 60s, 70s and 80s Old Trafford had a capacity of 58,000 people. But in the early 90s, after the Hillsbrough tragedy, the Taylor Report ordered all top-echelon teams to have only seated stands. Now the project of the 60s was brought to life and the stadium became an impeccable “bowl”, but the capacity of 44,000 people was too small for the then so popular team.
This led to a subsequent expansion in 1995-96: the three-tier North Stand was built, accommodating 26,000 seats, increasing the total capacity to 56,000. Reaching 60 meters in height, this stand has the largest cantilever roof in the world. This huge structure looms over the field, overwhelming opponents. Costing £19 million, the stand also houses a magnificent three-storey United museum (open on non-match days), a resplendent trophy room (always full), Red's Cafe and two levels of Sky staff rooms.
The south stand is considered the main stand and houses a coach's bench, boxes for television crews, directors and police officers, luxury restaurants and administrative rooms. The seats here have a different slope than the other stands, and therefore the South Stand is slightly lower than the others. Interesting fact: approximately 20 rows in each of the stands are below street level. The South Stand is rarely seen on TV, as the television cameras are located right there, aimed at the North Stand. The player exit tunnel was previously on the south side, but has since moved to the southwest corner. The old tunnel still exists and is used for special events and stadium tours. The East Stand was home to United's most loyal fans, many of whom moved to the Stretford End, while the away fans occupied the south-east corner. Until the end of the 60s, there was a scoreboard in the East Stand, which was later replaced by an electronic one, which was recently distributed to the corners of the North Stand. A subsequent renovation added a second level to the east end in January 2000, increasing capacity to 61,000 seats.
The outside of Old Trafford is clad in painted glass, reminiscent of modern office buildings. There is a statue of Sir Matt Busby, a plaque and the famous clock commemorating the Munich air disaster on February 6, 1958. There is also a Manchester United supermarket here, where you can buy any club products. The west side of the field is known as the Stretford End. Before the stadium became fully seated, the Stretford End had a standing crowd of 20,000 fans, considered one of the loudest in Britain. Measurements once showed that the roar of the stands was louder than the sound of a jet aircraft during takeoff. The stand was rebuilt in 1993 and a second level of seating was added in 2000, increasing the capacity to 68,217 seats. The Western Stand also has a section for the players' families, and at the edge of the stand there are locker rooms, a hall and a tunnel. Also on the top level you can see many flags created by fans to remind the history of the club and taunt opponents. Also at the top is a statue of Denis Law, the United striker in the 60s, also known as the "King of the Stretford End".
Old Trafford hosted the Euro 96 semi-final and now hosts the FA Cup semi-final every year. On May 28, 2003, the stadium had the honor of hosting Champions League finalists Milan and Juventus, in which Milan won after a penalty shootout. Many say that the legendary atmosphere at Old Trafford has changed for the worse, although it brings in many tourists, who in turn are partly responsible for this deterioration. Sir Alex Ferguson has often complained about the lack of singing and chants, so there are special singing areas at the top of the West Stand in an attempt to recapture the atmosphere of yesteryear. Plans are currently underway to fill the northwest and northeast corners to increase capacity to 75,000 and restore the bowl effect to two-thirds of the stadium.

Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester

Work to expand the South Stand is still in the distant future, as the land around the stadium is currently not subject to restructuring. It would be possible to develop the nearby railway, but it would be necessary to buy about 50 houses at high prices, much to the displeasure of the people living there. Be that as it may, plans are in place to rebuild the South Stand, making it similar to the North Stand, with the corners filled in, which would increase the capacity to an impressive 92,000 seats. Without a doubt, Old Trafford is one of the greatest and most famous sporting arenas in the world. At a time when many clubs are moving from their traditional venues, and although the stadium has changed beyond recognition, the magic of Old Trafford will always be here. The Theater of Dreams (as Sir Bobby Charlton called it) is Britain's largest stadium and a fitting home to the world's most famous team.

Information

• Location: Road to them. Sir Matt Busby, Trafford, Greater Manchester, England
• Built: 1909
• Open: 1910
• Construction cost: £90,000 (1909)
• Architect: Archibald Leitch
• Owner: Manchester United
• Capacity: 75,643 seats
• Home team: Manchester United
• Field dimensions: 105 x 68 m

A huge crowd gathered on the platform.

There was a terrible crush inside the carriage. On the way, the train stopped a couple of times - at these stops, naturally, no one got off, but new fans tried to get on the train. We had to stand at one station for about 15 minutes while the police pulled away the fans who didn’t want to surrender.

Finally we reached Old Trafford.

In front of the stadium there is a statue of Matt Busby, one of Manchester United's most successful managers.

A little further away from him, the stone “United trinity” - George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton - looks into the stadium.

A statue of Sir Ferguson will probably appear soon, since there has never been a more successful coach at Manchester United.
There is a Manchester United museum inside the stadium. One of the exhibitions was dedicated to Sir Alex.

There was also a special room in which three-dimensional Ferguson sat and talked about his career.

Naturally, numerous Manchester cups.

Players' personal T-shirts.

The T-shirt of our Andrei Kanchelskis is also in a place of honor, as is his last name in the song “Come on you reds”.

In addition, the museum had special devices through which you could download any match from the history of Manchester United and watch videos and photos of goals. Goals only scored by Manchester United, of course.
Well, and the rest of the museum exhibits.

Meanwhile, people were arriving at the stadium.

There were a lot of foreigners. They took pictures and shopped for Manchester paraphernalia at the megastore. Their varied faces simply glowed with happiness and excitement at being at Old Trafford. It was difficult for me to understand them.

I bought a program for the match, which was a real 70-page magazine with good printing, excellent photographs, various articles and interviews dedicated to both this match and other interesting facts from the life of Manchester United.
My seat was on the north stand; to get to it I had to walk up a long way.

You can easily buy beer at the local buffet. It is only prohibited to bring it into the stadium. After drinking beer, I went to my place. Immediately behind me there were VIP areas, where people who had bought tables sat and had dinner. There were many Indians among the VIPs.

The canopy on top slightly limited the view of the opposite stand, but the field was perfectly visible. As it often rains in England, all stands at Old Trafford are protected by canopies to ensure fans stay dry at all times.

And the game began!

The match was not very interesting. It was more interesting to listen to the fans. By the way, 75 and a half thousand fans attended the game with a stadium capacity of 75,800.

The first half ended in a goalless draw. The red devil and the lawn pavers ran onto the field. The devil began to provoke the fans, and the pavers began to lay the turf.

Closer to the break, people begin to rush to the exit to quickly buy something from the buffet. When I entered, there were already huge queues. Right there on TV they showed dangerous moments of the first half and pre-match press briefings.

But some people stay in their places and don’t go anywhere.

The second half was more interesting. The Manchester team were still able to score - a rebound from Chicharito helped.

But Newcastle did not give up and pressed on the Manchester United goal.

As a result, the Magpies earned a penalty, which Manchester United fans and players disagreed with for a long time.