LONDON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Manchester United on Tuesday announced plans for a new 100,000-seater ground close to its current Old Trafford Stadium.

The new ground is expected to cost around 2 billion pounds (2.6 billion US dollars), with the club saying the project will also involve the construction of 17,000 homes, bring 1.8 million extra visitors into the area per year and create 92,000 new jobs.

Conceptual images and scaled models of what the new stadium and surrounding area could look like were unveiled by Foster + Partners, the architecture group appointed to design the stadium district.

"This has to be one of the most exciting projects in the world today. It all starts with the fans' experience, bringing them closer than ever to the pitch and acoustically cultivating a huge roar."

"The stadium is contained by a vast umbrella, harvesting energy and rainwater, and sheltering a new public plaza that is twice the size of Trafalgar Square," explained Lord Foster.

Manchester United's co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe said the news means "the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world's greatest stadium."

Ratcliffe said the news meant United would leave their historic Old Trafford home, where the club has played since 1910.

"Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years but it has fallen behind the arenas in world sport."

"I think we may well finish up with the most iconic football stadium in the world," said Ratcliffe.

The news comes soon after Ratcliffe gave another interview in which he criticized several members of the current Manchester United team and hinted at a big clear-out of the current first team squad. Enditem

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