Manchester United Advertising Boards

The Project

The pitch side advertising boards at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United FC, were being upgraded to become electronic.

The company was employed as the building contractor by the manufacturers of the LED System to create a base for the units to sit on. The job was complicated by the fact that in the event of an emergency, the boards were required to be lowered into the ground at the push of a button. The units also had substantial cabling connected to them.

The solution was to create a precise concrete slot and mount the units on frames with rollers so the advertising boards could retract into the ground should it be required, but also securely hold the boards in place when in use. Another challenge was the fact that the job needed to be carried out in the close season which required a rigid programme but the team completed the works on time and to budget.

The electronic boards had runners that had to be placed accurately to a tolerance of 4mm over the 100m length of the pitch. The job was constricted by the relatively small gap between the pitch and seats, both of which it was paramount to avoid any damage or debris.