It's exciting' Locals hail new stadium as boost for Manchester

Even on a freezing, rainy day with no match taking place, the area surrounding Old Trafford is abuzz with football fans from far and wide. Just a day since Manchester United unveiled their plans for a new 100,000-capacity stadium, there is a sense of excitement; the plans promise 92,000 jobs and a large-scale regeneration of the area, including 17,000 new homes.

- Rachel Keenan

"I struggle to find negative things to think about it," says a 35-year-old architect and local resident, Curtis Martyn. He and his neighbour, Sandra Aguilera, a Manchester council worker, live close to the stadium, on Railway Road.

"I'm excited about the new quarter. I love the idea of investing in the north - I think that's important, I love the idea of connection," says Martyn.

Aguilera agrees. Looking at the stadium from their gardens, she says it's an eyesore: "It's not nice at the moment; it looks like a factory from the 80s," and the ventilation system is old, which fills the street with a constant hum.