Firm’s group commerical director tells Building job appeals to contractor’s business model and skill set
Laing O’Rourke has become the first major contractor to publicly declare an interest in building Manchester United’s new ground.
The firm is an early favourite for the job given it has recently completed Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool.
Laing O’Rourke’s group commercial and Europe hub clients and markets director, John O’Connor, told Building: “We are always interested in opportunities that align to our business model and allow us to deploy our extensive capabilities in project delivery, manufacturing and utilising modern methods of construction. Such an approach allowed us to deliver Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock earlier than scheduled.
“The broader Old Trafford redevelopment represents a fantastic catalyst for the wider regeneration of the local area, region and indeed the North. We look forward to seeing how its plans progress.”
O’Rourke has a significant presence in the North-west with a regional office in Sale and over the past few years has been working on the upgrade of Manchester Airport.
But with the Everton scheme coming to an end the firm’s workloads have tapered off with O’Rourke looking to deploy some staff in the area to its jobs in other parts of the country.
One source said: “Not everyone has been keen to leave the North-west so this will be good news for them.”
>> See also: Manchester United wants to build a new stadium. Who would want to do the job?
>> See also: In pictures: Everton’s new home built by Laing O’Rourke hosts first test event
Last week, Manchester United published images of its plans to build a 100,000-seat stadium surrounded by three 200m-tall spires and sitting at the centre of a sprawling mixed-use development.
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said large parts of it will be built offsite, claiming the job could be ready in time for the 2030/31 season.
One other major contractor told Building that it hadn’t made its mind up whether to run the rule over the job or not. “It’s not something actively on our radar but, clearly, because it’s such a big job we’re not going to dismiss it out of hand.”
One other name mentioned in the past few days has been Aecom’s construction management business Hunt which it bought in 2014.
Aecom Hunt was last week appointed to help out with the venues for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Its rollcall of stadium jobs in the US includes the SoFi stadium in Los Angeles as well as several baseball stadia in Phoenix, Seattle and St Louis.
Designs for Manchester United by Foster + Partners, which has also masterplanned the district around the stadium, show the stadium building topped by an umbrella-like netting and facing a public square which would by double the size of Trafalgar Square.
The three spires, known as “the trident”, will be visible from more than 25 miles away, according to the firm.
Manchester United has been contacted for comment.
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