Snapdragon chief hints at new Old Trafford name, Manchester United fans may like it

Snapdragon Chief Marketing Officer Don McGuire has hinted at how a new-look Manchester United stadium could be named.

There has been much talk about Manchester United building a new stadium following Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s acquisition of 27.7% of the club.

Old Trafford, with its 114-year reign as one of the biggest club stadiums in England, has been overtaken by some of the other Premier League grounds as the best-built stadiums for modern football, although it still remains one of the most iconic.

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United intend to submit plans for a newly built stadium on the same site as the current ground by the end of the year and has not ruled out the possibility of selling the naming rights to help fund this.

Speaking recently at the Snapdragon Stadium as part of United’s 3-2 pre-season win over Real Betis, Snapdragon Chief Marketing Officer Don McGuire hinted that a new name, rather than completely taking “Old Trafford,” could be an addition to the original name. An example of this is “Wembley Stadium, powered by EE.”

“Old Trafford is Old Trafford; it should always be Old Trafford. But if there is a brand attached to that in some way, shape, or form, powered by someone, an “at” or whatever…” McGuire said.

This may be something fans could accept, as the stadium would still retain “Old Trafford” rather than the iconic name being lost to history.

“This is Snapdragon Stadium at Bashor Field. We are working very closely with the team on the reimagination of Old Trafford from a technology and innovation standpoint. And Carrington. Both.

“So if that leads to something bigger, where it would make sense for us to go even bigger – this (shirt sponsor) is pretty big, by the way, not inexpensive – but if it makes sense, we are always looking out for opportunities.”

McGuire also explained that he hopes United will return to China for a pre-season tour at some stage and potentially their first-ever fixtures in India.

“Manchester United’s biggest fanbase is in China: 253 million fans,” McGuire added. And so China is a huge market for my company and Snapdragon brand. I have 87 per cent awareness for the brand in China. Walk down the street in Shanghai, and ask someone if they know what Snapdragon is. They absolutely will tell you, ‘Of course, it’s my phone.’

“We know they have played in China before and they’d love to go back to China. And we’d love that too. Playing in China is a little bit different because there are a lot more layers of regulation you have you get through. But we’d love for them to play in China, India.”

The American also confirmed that Snapdragon are in with United for the “long haul”, despite only initially signing a three-year deal as the club’s new shirt sponsor.

You see some of the changes that are happening, moves being made, with Ineos, Sir Jim (Ratcliffe) and his team coming in, and we are confident the club is moving in the right direction there,” McGuire said. “So we are confident about that. 

“The FA Cup win was fantastic, a nice way to end an otherwise disappointing season for the club. But we’re in this for the long haul. It’s similar to our Mercedes F1 partnership.”

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