Old Trafford football stadium (given
the nickname The Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton) is the
home of Manchester United F.C., one of the most famous football
clubs in the world. Located in the borough of Trafford in
Greater Manchester, it has been United's home since 1910. The
stadium was bombed in 1941, forcing the club to temporarily
share Manchester City's home ground, Maine Road, until the
rebuilding of Old Trafford was completed in 1949.
Until the new Wembley Stadium is completed Old Trafford will
have the largest ground capacity of any English football stadium,
holding just over 68,000 spectators. Planning permission has
been granted to expand this to around 76,000 by the 2006-07
season. Currently, the only larger football ground in the United
Kingdom is the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Old Trafford is by
far the largest club ground in Britain and is, of course, all-seater,
which all higher league British club grounds have had to be
since the Taylor Report in the early 1990s. It used to
frequently be used to host F.A. Cup semi-final matches (as long
as Manchester United are not involved, of course), and is also
occasionally used to host England international fixtures whilst
Wembley is under reconstruction. It also hosted the Champions
League final in 2003.
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.
The football stadium is close to the Old Trafford cricket ground. |
