Firm鈥檚 group commerical director tells 精东影视 job appeals to contractor鈥檚 business model and skill set

Laing O鈥橰ourke has become the first major contractor to publicly declare an interest in building Manchester United鈥檚 new ground.

The firm is an early favourite for the job given it has recently completed Everton鈥檚 new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool.

Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 group commercial and Europe hub clients and markets director, John O鈥機onnor, told 精东影视: 鈥淲e 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鈥檚 new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock earlier than scheduled.

Old Trafford Fosters 5

Source: Foster + Partners

The seating layout aims to get spectators as close as possible to the pitch

鈥淭he 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.鈥

O鈥橰ourke 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鈥檚 workloads have tapered off with O鈥橰ourke looking to deploy some staff in the area to its jobs in other parts of the country.

One source said: 鈥淣ot everyone has been keen to leave the North-west so this will be good news for them.鈥

>> See also: Manchester United wants to build a new stadium. Who would want to do the job?

>> See also: In pictures: Everton鈥檚 new home built by Laing O鈥橰ourke 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 精东影视 that it hadn鈥檛 made its mind up whether to run the rule over the job or not. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something actively on our radar but, clearly, because it鈥檚 such a big job we鈥檙e not going to dismiss it out of hand.鈥

everton new

Laing O鈥橰ourke built Everton鈥檚 new ground which is due to open in August

One other name mentioned in the past few days has been Aecom鈥檚 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 鈥渢he trident鈥, will be visible from more than 25 miles away, according to the firm.

Manchester United has been contacted for comment.