Possibly one of the most iconic ‘old’ football stadiums in the world, Old Trafford became a true sporting landmark, especially during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Due to the club’s success, the stadium was often seen on television a lot, with the major broadcasters usually airing matches that featured the club – especially in the Champions League.
Those European night’s at Old Trafford left fond memories for many United supporters, especially classics such as against those very good Juventus sides and the likes’ of Fenerbache, Real Madrid and other iconic clubs around Europe.
A name that hasn’t been used much over the last decade or so, for obvious reasons, but Old Trafford adopted the nickname, ‘Theatre of Dreams’ among many fans who would turn up week-in, week-out to watch arguably the most attractive footballing team of its era at the time.
Old Trafford, particularly when the team was winning consistently, also had one of the largest capacities in the country, which further helped to add to the atmosphere.
Old Trafford Capacity Changes
| Capacity Changes | Year |
|---|---|
| 70,000 | 1950s |
| 65,000 | 1960s |
| 44,000 | 1990 |
| 55,000 | 1996 |
| 67,000 | 1999 |
| 76,212 | 2006 |
*Original Capacity: 80,000
Old Trafford In The Early Days
The first ever match to be played at Old Trafford was on 19 February 2010 with the team hosting rivals Liverpool, following a move from previous location, North Road (then Bank Street in Clayton), with then club chairman, John Henry Davies deciding the club needed a considerable upgrade.
Their new location swiftly became the envy of English football and hosted the FA Cup final replay in 1911 and the 1915 final. During this time, the ground had a staggering capacity of 80,000, though, effectively, the vast majority of these were all terraces.
In 1939, meanwhile, Old Trafford witnessed its highest ever attendance, with 76,692 spectators – the stadium playing host to the FA Cup semi-final between Grimsby Town and Wolves.
However, the stadium suffered considerable damage during the second world war due to the Luftwaffe’s bombing campaign against Great Britain and, as a result, needed a substantial rebuild, which meant that the capacity was reduced to 70,000 by the early 1950’s, the Stretford End being the largest.
Stadium Developments’ Effect On Capacity
During the 1960s, the club introduced floodlights to the stadium, in addition to seating which reduced the capacity to around 65,000. In the 1980s, as hooliganism swept through the country, this led to the publication of the 1990 Taylor Report, which was principally published following the Hillsborough Disaster a year earlier.
As such, the stadium became an all-seater which saw the capacity drop to 44,000, though in 1996, expansion of the North Stand (Sir Alex Ferguson Stand) increased that number to 55,000.
In 1999, more tiers were added to the east and west stand, which saw the capacity increase once more to its post-war number of 67,000, this time all-seated.
Post 2000 Old Trafford
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A landmark was met in 2006 as Old Trafford became the largest club stadium in England, following quadrants being added to north-east and north-west corners, taking the capacity to 76,212.
In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about expanding the stadium further to 80,000 – 90,000, though also modernising it to help bring it into the technological age, in line with the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though it remains to be seen how concrete these plans are.