On 7 May 1896, Sir Humphrey Francis de Trafford put the estate up for auction, but it failed to reach its reported reserve price of £300,000 (£ as of ). There was much public debate, before and after the abortive sale, as to whether Manchester Corporation ought to buy Trafford Park, but the corporation could not agree terms quickly enough, and so on 23 June Ernest Terah Hooley became the new owner of Trafford Park, for the sum of £360,000 (£ as of ).