Manchester United's plans for a new stadium may have suffered a blow after it emerged that the local council are taking legal action against Lancashire Cricket Club over an incident at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. A member of the public was injured as the band played a gig at Lancashire's Old Trafford home back in 2022 and Trafford Council are prosecuting both the club and promoter Live Nation over the incident.
In a statement, they said: "Trafford Council can confirm that Lancashire Cricket Club and Live Nation are being prosecuted for health and safety offences in respect of an incident at the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert held at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground on 22 June 2022.".
And according to a report from the Daily Mail, the news has raised concerns that Live Nation may decide to stop staging events in Trafford and that would come as a major blow to both United and Lancashire. The report states that United hope that concerts from big-name stars will 'become a key revenue driver and a regular fixture' at the new stadium, with a source quoted as saying that Live Nation are "not the kind of people you want to upset when you are trying to build a new stadium that will rely on concerts".
Lancashire also rely heavily on staging events to supplement the income they make from cricket, with the club making a £5.3million operating profit in 2023 after their conference and events business generated £4.1m in revenue and their on-site hotel generated a further £6.5m.
United's plans to build a new 100,000 seat stadium are part of a wider regeneration effort that has been given the green light by chancellor Rachel Reeves. "The Chancellor revealed today that she is championing a regeneration project around Old Trafford in Manchester that will see new housing, commercial and public space as a shining example of the bold pro-development model that will drive growth across the region, with authorities exploring setting up a mayoral development corporation body to redevelop the area," a statement from Reeves' office read.
