Old Trafford (football ground)

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<tr><td>Broke ground</td><td>1909</td></tr>

Old Trafford <tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Theatre of Dreams</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Image:CIMG1475.JPG </td></tr>
Location	Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England
Opened	1910
Owner	Manchester United <tr><td>Operator</td><td>Manchester United</td></tr><tr><td>Construction cost</td><td>£60,000 GBP</td></tr><tr><td>Architect</td><td>Archibald Leitch</td></tr>
Tenants
Manchester United (FA Premier League) (1910-present)
Seats
76,212

Old Trafford (given the nickname The Theatre of Dreams by Sir Bobby Charlton) is a football stadium in the Greater Manchester borough of Trafford, and is the home of Manchester United F.C.. The ground has been United's permanent home since 1910, bar an eight year absence from 1941 to 1949 following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War, during which the club ground-shared with Manchester City at Maine Road. The stadium is located close to Old Trafford cricket ground.

Until the new Wembley Stadium is completed, Old Trafford will have the largest ground capacity of any English football stadium, with a capacity of just over 76,000, and will be joined by Wembley as the only UEFA 5-star stadia in England.

Old Trafford is by far the largest club ground in Britain and is all-seater, as legally required of all higher league British club stadia since the Taylor Report in the early 1990s. The ground's most recent expansion saw the addition of around 9,000 seats by "filling-in" the second tier of the north-west and north-east quadrants of the ground. The South Stand remains the only single-tiered stand, its development hindered by a railway line located directly behind it. Although the line could be built over, at least fifty residential properties would have to be demolished for any expansion to be possible, making improvements to the other stands the cheaper option. Further development, taking the capacity to 96,000, will require this expensive house demolition and engineering. [1]

Part of the new seating was used for the first time on 26 March 2006, when an attendance of 69,070 became a new Premiership record. However, this lasted just 3 days before 69,522 people watched United play West Ham on 29 March, and was re-broken on a frequent basis as more sections of the new quadrants were opened. The latest Premiership attendance record to be set was set on 4 November 2006 when 76,004 spectators saw United beat Portsmouth F.C. 3-0. The stadium's record attendance remains at 76,962, set on 25 March 1939 for a FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.

The ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches (as a neutral venue), and hosted several England international fixtures whilst Wembley was under reconstruction. It also hosted 1966 FIFA World Cup matches, Euro 96 matches and the Champions League final in 2003. With London winning its bid for the 2012 Olympics, the stadium will be used for some preliminary men's and women's football matches during the Summer Games. Since 1998, when rugby league adopted play-offs and a Grand Final to determine the Super League champions, Old Trafford has staged the Grand Final.

Old Trafford was the first English ground to have to install a perimeter fence to counter fan violence and hooliganism in the 1970s.

The ground featured in the 1967 Albert Finney film Charlie Bubbles where a child is disappointed at missing out on fully being involved in the match due to watching from behind the glass window of one of the private boxes.

In its early days, the ground also hosted games of shinty, the traditional sport of the Scottish Highlands. [2]

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Old Trafford (football ground)

Manchester United Football Club
Manchester United F.C.
History: pre-1945 \| 1945-1969 \| 1969-1986 \| 1986-1998 \| 1998-1999 \| 1999-present
Busby Babes \| Munich air disaster
Old Trafford \| Stretford End \| Manchester derby
Glazer takeover
MUTV

Preceded by: Hampden Park Glasgow	UEFA Champions League Final Venue 2003	Succeeded by: Arena AufSchalke Gelsenkirchen

UEFA 5-star rated football stadia

v • d • e</div>

Image:Flag of Austria.svg Austria	Ernst Happel Stadion
Image:Flag of England.svg England	Old Trafford
Image:Flag of France.svg France	Stade de France
Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany	Allianz Arena
	AOL Arena
	Olympiastadion, Berlin
	Olympiastadion, München
	Signal Iduna Park
	Veltins-Arena
Image:Flag of Greece.svg Greece	Olympic Stadium, Athens
Image:Flag of Italy.svg Italy	San Siro
Image:Flag of Italy.svg Italy	Stadio Olimpico
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands	Amsterdam ArenA
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands	Feijenoord Stadion

Image:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal	Estádio da Luz
	Estádio do Dragão
	Estádio José Alvalade
Image:Flag of Russia.svg Russia	Luzhniki Stadium
Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland	Hampden Park
Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland	Ibrox Stadium
Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain	Camp Nou
	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
	Estadio La Cartuja
	Estadio Vicente Calderón
	Santiago Bernabéu
Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey	Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu
Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey	Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Image:Flag of Wales 2.svg Wales	Millennium Stadium

FA Premier League Venues 2006-2007
Anfield \| Boleyn Ground \| Bramall Lane \| City of Manchester Stadium \| Craven Cottage Emirates Stadium \| Ewood Park \| Fratton Park \| Goodison Park \| JJB Stadium Madejski Stadium \| Old Trafford \| Reebok Stadium \| Riverside Stadium \| St James' Park Stamford Bridge \| The Valley \| Vicarage Road \| Villa Park \| White Hart Lane