According to exclusive news from the British media I paper, Manchester United's plan to build a new stadium for 100,000 people has been frustrated again. In the budget announced this month, the government will not provide funds for this project.
Reports indicate that the British Treasury will not provide any funds for the construction of the project. United's request for government funding has been stalled since the start of the year.
While Treasury officials have held talks with the Combined Authority on its vision for regeneration and housing in the Manchester area, there has been no formal contact with Manchester United or the local government council where the new stadium is located.
Manchester United have made it clear that they will not seek to use public funds for the construction of the stadium, which is estimated to cost between 2 billion and 3 billion pounds, but the wider regional regeneration work will still require government funding.
It is reported that Manchester United has accepted the reality of being frustrated in lobbying the government and is currently focusing on obtaining potential funds at the regional level through the "Mayor Development Company for the Redevelopment of Old Trafford".
Another reason for the delay is that Manchester United have so far been unable to acquire the rail freight terminal next to Old Trafford, which is the land necessary to start construction. Manchester United's bid for the land was about 50 million pounds, but Freightliner, the freight company that owns and operates the station, wanted a price of up to 400 million pounds, and negotiations between the two parties reached a deadlock.
There have been other signs of Manchester United scaling back their vision for the stadium in recent months, commissioning alternative designs, including one that removed the tent-like roof that was a central feature of the original scheme, a change that would save around £300m in costs.
Manchester United estimates the total cost of the project to be approximately £4.2 billion, but based on the experience of other similar projects, serious delays are likely to cause costs to rise further.