This year, the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, has already completed a remarkable double. In February, the facility hosted Super Bowl LV, and in April, it hosted Wrestlemania 37.
Within a few months, the stadium hosted two of America's most prestigious sporting events, and it was all made possible by a major remodeling project that began five years ago.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, making it the first time an NFL team has ever competed in the Super Bowl at their own stadium. Even for those Manchester United fans who have no interest in the NFL, the success of the 'Bucs,' who is owned by the Glazer family, always raises red flags.
They followed suit after investing heavily in the stadium by pouring money into the squad, most notably in acquiring the immortal Tom Brady, who led them to that historic Super Bowl victory. United supporters will be hoping for a similar investment in Manchester.
Although Old Trafford is significantly larger than Raymond James Stadium, it has starting to show its age in recent years. It's no longer the Premier League's standard-bearer, and it's too simple a metaphor for how United has slipped from that position on the field.
Joel Glazer promised upgrades at Old Trafford and compared it to the Tampa stadium at a recent fans' gathering he attended.
"You know, we own an NFL team in the United States, and we recently went through that procedure at our stadium there two or three years ago," he informed the 11 United supporters who dialed in via Zoom.
"Our stands were around 20 years old, and it took us up to 16 years to complete a comprehensive restoration." Last year, we hosted the Super Bowl there, and it's a venue that we're quite proud of.
"We expect to do the same thing now that we're in a certain cycle with Old Trafford, so that when it's all said and done, it's something that everyone can be proud of, but again, we're going to work with everyone, consult, make sure everyone has input into what they think is important, and come up with something that, again, all of our supporters around the world can be proud of," he said.
"With regard to Old Trafford, I think we can all agree that Old Trafford is the club's heart and soul," Glazer added. We've invested almost £100 million on infrastructure at Old Trafford over the last ten years, but that was just annual upkeep and tiny upgrades here and there.
"We're now going to start the process of a lot more massive development of Old Trafford, which we had always envisaged going through."
"I want to emphasize that these projects require time. They're significant undertakings. And we want to make certain that the ultimate outcome is something that everyone can be proud of. The same may be said about the practice field. Behind the scenes, work is being done to improve the training ground and retain it as a world-class facility.
"One thing I'd like to emphasize about facilities and infrastructure is that they all go through a cycle." You complete significant work and establish a standard. You're pleased with yourself.
"Then there are some that try to take it to the next level." After then, time passes, and the cycle repeats itself, at which point we go in and complete the major job. But we're determined to finishing with a world-class project that all of our supporters will be proud of, because, as I mentioned, it's the club's heart and soul."
It has been left to deteriorate for much too long, falling far short of the standards set when United was on the rise in the 1990s and Old Trafford was rapidly expanding.
It may still be the country's largest club ground, but it no longer sets the bar for facilities and infrastructure.
Glazer is correct in observing that these events occur in cycles. With the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal upped the standard, and Tottenham surpassed it with their own new stadium. Even if getting a manager to sit in the comfortable position in the dugout is proving to be a struggle beyond Daniel Levy, that stadium is currently the greatest in the country.
Glazer gave the impression that United would be looking at developments and inventions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and elsewhere to see what best practice was out there when speaking at the fans' forum, where the majority of those in attendance had a question about Old Trafford facilities in some way.
"There are future plans, and as I mentioned earlier, everything has a cycle, and what we have now is the benefit of seeing what other people have done, what the latest is in different stadiums, and we can take the best of what other people have done, consult and implement it at Old Trafford, and end up with a result we can be proud of," he said.
"There have been a number of other stadiums built with a lot of new technologies." We'll walk around and see what other people have done, then bring those ideas back and discuss them to see what people think is essential.
"And, once again, you [supporters] live it every week at Old Trafford. You know what you're looking for and what you're not content with behind the scenes. And it all begins there, with the creation of an atmosphere and setting, as well as a stadium, which is what we all strive for."
Building a winning club on the field isn't as simple as throwing money at the problem, but the Glazers can demonstrate their dedication to resurrecting United by ensuring Old Trafford serves as a beacon of that goal. They've done it in Tampa, and now it's time for Manchester.
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