The Stretford End, also known as the West Stand, at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemble ...

, the

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Manchester United Football Club Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

, takes its name from nearby

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. Stre ...

. The stand is divided into two tiers and, in common with the rest of the stadium, has a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

roof.

History

Before the

Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...

, which required all

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and Division One clubs to have all-seater stadia by the start of the 1994–95 season, the Stretford End was the main standing area at

, accommodating around 20,000 fans. The very upper tier of the end did actually have form seating where generally families with younger children used to sit. The last game played in front of the terrace was the final match of the 1991–92 season, a 3–1 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

on 2 May 1992. The terrace was demolished in the 1992 close-season and replaced with a £10 million

all-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...

stand by the end of the 1992–93 season, and its name officially changed to the West Stand, although it is still often referred to as the Stretford End and has white seats spelling the name out. The construction work was carried out by

Birse Group Birse Group was a construction and civil engineering company based in North Yorkshire, England. It was acquired by Balfour Beatty in 2006 who retired the brand in 2014. History The company was founded by Peter Birse as the Birse Group in Doncast ...

. The redevelopment of the Stretford End was first proposed in the summer of 1989, when chairman

Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Technology Ltd. Biography ...

was proposing to sell the club and was willing to sell his shares for £10 million and pledge £10 million to any new owner for the redevelopment of the Stretford End; however, the proposed sale of the club to Michael Knighton fell through and Edwards remained the club's owner for over a decade afterwards. For the 2000–01 season, a second tier of seating was added. As well as hosting a number of executive boxes, the first tier of the West Stand is now partly taken up by the family seating area. The players' tunnel is located at the corner of the Stretford End and the Sir Bobby Charlton (South) stand. Strikers

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

(who played for United from 1962 to 1973) and

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

(1992 to 1997) were nicknamed "King of the Stretford End" by the club's fans, the former for his formidable goal record and the latter for his charisma.

Statue

The Stretford End has a statue of

on the upper concourse, which was unveiled on 23 September 2002. Law was known as the "King of the Stretford End" as he was idolised by the End's faithful.

References

{{Reflist Manchester United F.C.