MANCHESTER United Football Club has put in a bid to host concert events for seven days each year.

The change of use for the Old Trafford stadium, which can hold more than 76,000 people, means there could potentially be a string of gigs when the season ends next May.

The concerts would finish in June, when the club’s groundsmen begin repairing the pitch in time for friendly matches and the start of the new season.

A Manchester United spokesman said: “We haven’t got a series of concerts up our sleeve. This application is a tidying up exercise so that we have formal, written consent to stage concerts.

“We want it to be clear that we’re capable of holding concerts and so that every eventuality is covered. We wanted to ascertain that we can hold big events like this both safely and legally.

“We’re after planning permission after a court ruling against Twickenham that said the use of the rugby stadium didn’t stretch to concerts.”

It is proposed that any concert will start no earlier than 10am and finish no later than 10.30pm, with the scope for 2,000 part-time jobs to cover an event. On-site parking totals 5,200 spaces.

The concerts could be held on up to four consecutive days of the year and one of the reasons for the limited number is the small window of opportunity for holding such events because of the football season and the fact that it takes approximately a week for acts to arrive, set up and leave.

The club hopes the the use of the stadium for concerts will have a positive impact on tourism development and improve facilities in Trafford.

The last act to perform to a crowd of more than 58,000 at the Theatre of Dreams was rock legend Bruce Springsteen in 2008. And in 2007 Genesis played to more than 54,000 fans. These were granted permission on an adhoc basis by the council licensing committe.

The bid to secure the future use of the stadium as a music venue will be made to the planning committee on September 9.

Gorse Hill ward councillor, Mike Cordingley, said: “I’m keen that we get the balance right over these stadium concerts. The affect on nearby residents has to be taken into account.

“We received a lot of complaints over the recent Take That concerts at the ‘other Old Trafford’ and I want the planning committee to look carefully at whether weekday stadium concerts at exam time are really a step too far. Noise is one aspect but there are many others.”