Old Trafford: 104 Years Later

Exactly 104 years ago today (19 Feb), Manchester United played the first-ever match at Old Trafford. Here, we chart the stadium's rich history and heritage...

Nestled between the Bridgewater Canal and a railway line, Old Trafford springs from its foundations to overshadow the surrounding areas of industrial estates and terraced housing, making a statement to all who approach: ‘this is Manchester United Football Club; this is the Theatre of Dreams.’

Aptly, Sir Bobby Charlton coined that phrase in the pages of ‘Soccer’, a book by author John Riley, at the beginning of Sir Alex Ferguson’s imperious reign in 1987. Since then, United’s home has undergone a dramatic evolution to become what is – in our humble opinion - the finest club ground in British football.

Indeed, Old Trafford is the second largest stadium in the UK (after Wembley) and ninth largest in Europe, having developed enormously since it was first designed in 1909 by the celebrated architect Archibald Leitch, whose iconic works also include Liverpool’s Anfield, Fulham’s Craven Cottage and Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium, among many others.

Back then, ambitious chairman John Henry Davies had a vision that didn’t involve the crumbling, smog-bound facilities at Bank Street, where the pitch was a quagmire, deemed unsuitable for a club of United’s calibre. His solution was to spend £60,000 on a stadium fit for heroes, prompting one journalist to describe the venue as “the most handsomest, the most spacious and the most remarkable arena I have ever seen. As a football ground it is unrivalled in the world, it is an honour to Manchester.” In keeping with such a review, Old Trafford soon staged the 1911 FA Cup final replay and the 1915 final, before hosting a first international match eleven years later.

A full house was seldom seen as the side yo-yoed between the top two divisions in the years preceding World War II, but much worse would befall the stadium. On 8 March 1941, German bombers targeting the Trafford Park Industrial Estate landed two direct hits on the stadium; destroying the main stand, scorching the pitch and forcing United to pay rent to Manchester City for the use of Maine Road. The costs were onerous and the club had ran up debts of £15,000 by the time OT was reopened in 1949.

Entry into the European Cup required floodlights, which illuminated a semi-final clash with Real Madrid in April. In 1966, a shiny new North Stand was erected ahead of the World Cup, notably containing the first private boxes at a British football ground – an idea Matt Busby suggested after watching baseball in the US. Perimeter fences were among the next additions to the stadium furniture as hooliganism proliferated in the 1970s.

Following the 1989 tragedy at Hillsborough, the Taylor Report recommended that all top-flight grounds be converted to all-seater stadia. This forced Old Trafford's capacity to drop to 44,000. But as the Reds’ popularity surged in the 1990s, an all-seater Stretford End was built. A new three-tier North Stand followed with further developments made to the East and West Stands, just prior to hosting the 2003 UEFA Champions League final. Having added second tiers to both the north-west and north-east quadrants, crowds peaked at a record 76,098 for the visit of Blackburn in 2007. Today, after a few changes to seating configurations, capacity sits at 75,524.

In keeping with the club’s traditional values, today’s Old Trafford houses various nods to history via the Munich memorial, tunnel and clock, as well as the bronzed statues of Messrs Busby, Best, Law, Charlton and Ferguson, whose name also adorns the aforementioned North Stand.

Like the city of Manchester, the stadium is much changed in recent years – slicker, smarter, more modern - but at its core, it is still the same. After a 104 year existence, it remains a cathedral of football and a pilgrimage for every Manchester United fan.