New Rail Seating At Manchester United

Manchester United supporters were able to experience the new rail seating at Old Trafford for the first time as 30,000 fans turned out for the pre-season friendly match against fellow Premier League club Brentford on Wednesday night which finished with a 2-2 draw.

It marked only the second time that United fans had been able to attend a match at the 75,000-seat stadium since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Approximately 10,000 supporters had been admitted to the ground when United’s held their final home Premier League match of last season against Fulham.

The installation of the 1,500 rail seats began last month, with United having received permission to trial the safe standing section in April, 2020. The seats were fitted following discussions between the club and the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST).

Collette Roche, Manchester United’s chief operating officer told MUTV ahead of the match: “[The development comes] after a long conversation with MUST, our supporters trust, who were really keen to put this in as a good, safe option for our supporters on match day.

“We’re delighted that this friendly match will be our first opportunity for our fans to sample these rail seats.

“Old Trafford is exactly the same as other large stadiums, it’s all-seater. Our fans do need to sit, but what this will do is make it safer for those that do temporarily stand, and also it will future-proof us. So in the future, should any legislation changes come about that do allow safe standing, we would be in a good position to facilitate that.”

Roche added that new LED floodlights have been fitted at Old Trafford in a move designed to enhance both the in-stadium and at-home viewing experience for supporters

Recently United executive co-chairman Joel Glazer pledged to “accelerate” upgrades to Old Trafford as part of what the club described as “a new era of dialogue and consultation with fans”.

United set out its vision for a new ‘Fan Advisory Board’ and a ‘Fan Share Scheme’ after the club was widely criticised for its aborted attempt to join the failed breakaway Super League scheme in April. Renovations to Old Trafford will be at the heart of the fan consultation.

In recent months Premier League clubs Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have also revealed plans to fit rail seating.

Manchester United have added rail seating and new LED floodlights to enhance the experience at Old Trafford.