Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force holds its first meeting as stadium plans start taking shape | OneFootball

Sir Jim Ratcliffe immediately won the majority of the fans over after his stake at Manchester United got confirmed with one simple decision.

He finally addressed the condition of Old Trafford, a stadium that has long been treated with apathy and neglect by the Glazers.

Plans to redevelop the area and hopefully bring United to the modern era with a stadium that merits that tag led to marked steps early into his tenure.

The biggest one was the formation of the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force.

The task force, which consists of United legend Gary Neville alongside Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and Sara Todd, Chief Executive of Trafford Council, was brought together to map out the steps for this project.

The preparations are already underway as the official club website has confirmed that the task force has had its inaugural meeting.

Lord Sebastian Coe, ex-Chair of the organising committee for the 2012 London Olympics chaired the first meeting of the task force.

Coe said that he has seen firsthand the change that sport can bring to the economy of a region and hopes that this task force can drive something similar for the region.

He said: “Yesterday, I chaired the first meeting of the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force to kick off a conversation about how development of a world-class football stadium for the north of England can deliver social and economic benefits for the region.

“At the London 2012 Olympics, I saw first-hand how sport can be a powerful driver of urban regeneration and I am excited to be part of this project.

“This meeting marked the start of a multi-stakeholder process to explore options for the stadium and surrounding area.

“We are at the start of this journey, and it is too soon to know where it will lead. But we will consult closely with fans and local residents along the way, and keep everyone informed of progress.”

These words will be welcomed by the fans as they are finally seeing words being converted to actions.

Most importantly, the communication with the fans is a welcome departure from how the Glazers used to go about things and if they can keep this trend up, happy days could be ahead for the club.

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