The History of Old Trafford

The History of Old Trafford

Old Trafford is the ultimate football stadium. Given the nickname ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ by Sir Bobby Charlton, it has played host to some of the best players, teams and football contests for almost 100 years. Before Wembley Stadium was built (23 April 1923), Old Trafford was a place to hold many big matchs, including the final of FA Cup. Moreover, in 1939, the match between Wolverhampton and Grimsby had reached 76.962 people. This total itself was a capacity record for this massive stadium.

It became Manchester United’s home in 1910, but suffered extensive damage when it was bombed by Germany during World War II in 11 March 1941. The Red Devils relocated to Manchester City’s Maine Road stadium until the rebuilding of Old Trafford was completed in 1949.

The stadium, the largest club ground in Britain, is one of the finest in the world. An incredible 1,705,696 fans watched United play at Old Trafford in season 2005/06. Since work on the expansion of the stadium’s North-west and North-east quadrants was completed in summer 2006, Old Trafford’s capacity has reached in excess of 76,000, making it one of the most atmospheric and historic stadiums in the world.

Moreover, Manchester United has a big plan to renovate this stadium's capacity to 96,000 and it will become bigger than the Wembley Stadium. For Manchester United, Old Trafford is a part of their symbol of honor. So, from the beginning Red Devils always tries to build the stadium as good and big as possible.