Old Trafford voted most loved club stadium in the UK in new survey

A new nationwide survey has revealed that Old Trafford Football Stadium is the nation’s most loved club stadium in the UK.

A third of Brits (32 per cent) chose Manchester United’s home as their favourite sporting landmark in the survey, outranking Anfield.

Overall, Old Trafford Football Stadium came in 7th place amongst all sporting venues, stadiums and landmarks in the UK.

It made the top ten alongside the likes of Lord’s Cricket Ground, Centre Court at Wimbledon and Wembley Stadium.

The research looking into what Brits miss about live sports, commissioned by Tabasco® Sauce, found that nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of Mancunians believe that the most important element of sporting landmarks is the history and heritage, with 49 per cent also considering the size and crowd capacity important.

During this time of uncertainty, watching live sport has created a sense of escapism for a whopping four fifths (83 per cent) of the Mancunians surveyed, getting them through some difficult times in 2020.

With crowds locked out, it’s not surprising to find the survey shows that nearly 70 per cent of Mancunians questioned are missing live football.

Over half (56 per cent) of Manchester sports fans miss simply cheering on their team, while 58 per cent are longing for the noise of the stadium.

However, it’s not just live sport or the places we watch it that we’re missing.

According to the study, three quarters (75 per cent) of sports fans in Manchester are longing to get back to their match day rituals.

Almost half of those surveyed in Manchester (47 per cent) said they miss seeing people they only ever see at the game.

A third (32 per cent) miss having a drink in the same pub before kick-off, then heading back to chat about how it went afterwards.

38 per cent of sports fans in Manchester say that they sometimes try to recreate the matchday experience at home by stocking up on specific food to eat while watching.

Pizza is the top sport snack for two thirds of Mancunians (66 per cent), while over a third (35 per cent) choose fish and chips, and 34 per cent go for burgers or an Indian.

A third (32 per cent) have bought in match day pies to heat up and eat at home, while over a fifth (22 per cent) of sports fans in Manchester have sausage rolls and 19 per cent go for pasties.

And while Manchester fans may not agree on everything sport related, around half agree (48 per cent) they cannot imagine a world without it.

39 per cent of Manchester-based fans strongly believe that big sporting events like the World Cup or Wimbledon bring the nation together.