Man United to REMOVE 850 executive seats from Stretford End

Man United to REMOVE 850 £3,000-per-season executive seats from the Stretford End – and replace them with general admission tickets following long campaign from fans

  • United fan groups worked with the club to resolve the longstanding issue
  • The change is set to come into effect from the start of the 2024-2025 season
  • The International Suite has been part of the Stretford End for more than 20 years 

Manchester United are set to remove around 850 executive seats from the heart of the Stretford End as part of an ongoing bid to improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford.

United fans had criticised the club for installing hospitality tickets in what is supposed to be the most vocal part of the stadium and campaigned for them to be moved elsewhere for 25 years.

The club have confirmed the padded seats in the affected block, which cost around £3,000 a season, will revert to general admission tickets from the 2024-2025 campaign following discussions with supporters and its Fan Advisory Board.

The Stretford End is the most famous area at Old Trafford and houses some of the club’s most vocal supporters

The affected block (circled) will be reverted to general admission from the 2024-25 season

The International Suite – which does not include complimentary matchday wining and dining – had been placed in the first tier of the Stretford End back in 2000.

Supporters had long called for the seats to go back to general admission and the topic was a key part of an open letter the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust wrote to the club back in 2018.

Fans had decried how United were one of the only clubs to install executive seats in the loudest area of their stadium.

The seats, which cost around £3,000 a year, are located in the International Suite at Old Trafford

The decision to remove the executive seats comes amid a concerted effort from the club to give fans a greater say in decision-making on issues relating to match-going supporters.

INTERNATIONAL SUITE 

Location: Tier 1 Stretford End

Opened: 2000

Complimentary food and drink: No

Cost per season: c.£3,000 

Seats: Around 850 

United recently polled season ticket holders on how returned tickets for away matches should be distributed and also introduced a ‘singing section’ in the Stretford End, organised and run by a group called The Red Army (TRA), to improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford.

‘Fans and fan groups including MUST and TRA have long campaigned for us to remove the executive seats from the heart of the Stretford End and to make them standard tickets and therefore more accessible to all fans,’ said United’s head of fan engagement Rick McGagh. 

‘We have listened and agree that as many fans as possible should have the chance to be a ‘Stretford Ender’. We have worked with our Fans’ Advisory Board in recent months to make this happen and we are all looking forward to an even louder Stretford End from August 2024.’ 




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