<P> Before 1902, Manchester United were known as Newton Heath, during which time they first played their football matches at North Road and then Bank Street in Clayton . However, both grounds were blighted by wretched conditions, the pitches ranging from gravel to marsh, while Bank Street suffered from clouds of fumes from its neighbouring factories . Therefore, following the club's rescue from near - bankruptcy and renaming, the new chairman John Henry Davies decided in 1909 that the Bank Street ground was not fit for a team that had recently won the First Division and FA Cup, so he donated funds for the construction of a new stadium . Not one to spend money frivolously, Davies scouted around Manchester for an appropriate site, before settling on a patch of land adjacent to the Bridgewater Canal, just off the north end of the Warwick Road in Old Trafford . </P> <P> Designed by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, who designed several other stadia, the ground was originally designed with a capacity of 100,000 spectators and featured seating in the south stand under cover, while the remaining three stands were left as terraces and uncovered . Including the purchase of the land, the construction of the stadium was originally to have cost £ 60,000 all told . However, as costs began to rise, to reach the intended capacity would have cost an extra £ 30,000 over the original estimate and, at the suggestion of club secretary J.J. Bentley, the capacity was reduced to approximately 80,000 . Nevertheless, at a time when transfer fees were still around the £ 1,000 mark, the cost of construction only served to reinforce the club's "Moneybags United" epithet, with which they had been tarred since Davies had taken over as chairman . </P> <P> In May 1908, Archibald Leitch wrote to the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC)--who had a rail depot adjacent to the proposed site for the football ground--in an attempt to persuade them to subsidise construction of the grandstand alongside the railway line . The subsidy would have come to the sum of £ 10,000, to be paid back at the rate of £ 2,000 per annum for five years or half of the gate receipts for the grandstand each year until the loan was repaid . However, despite guarantees for the loan coming from the club itself and two local breweries, both chaired by club chairman John Henry Davies, the Cheshire Lines Committee turned the proposal down . The CLC had planned to build a new station adjacent to the new stadium, with the promise of an anticipated £ 2,750 per annum in fares offsetting the £ 9,800 cost of building the station . The station--Trafford Park--was eventually built, but further down the line than originally planned . The CLC later constructed a modest station with one timber - built platform immediately adjacent to the stadium and this opened on 21 August 1935 . It was initially named United Football Ground, but was renamed Old Trafford Football Ground in early 1936 . It was served on match days only by a shuttle service of steam trains from Manchester Central railway station . It is currently known as Manchester United Football Ground . </P> <P> Construction was carried out by Messrs Brameld and Smith of Manchester and development was completed in late 1909 . The stadium hosted its inaugural game on 19 February 1910, with United playing host to Liverpool . However, the home side were unable to provide their fans with a win to mark the occasion, as Liverpool won 4--3 . A journalist at the game reported the stadium as "the most handsomest (sic), the most spacious and the most remarkable arena I have ever seen . As a football ground it is unrivalled in the world, it is an honour to Manchester and the home of a team who can do wonders when they are so disposed". </P>

When did man utd move to old trafford