Manchester City FC has unveiled concepts for a best-in-class fan experience and year-round entertainment and leisure destination at the Etihad Stadium. This follows the Club’s announcement in December last year that feasibility studies were underway to explore future stadium development.
The club says this is an extension of wishes to establish the Etihad Campus and the wider area as a globally relevant and competitive sport, leisure and entertainment destination. Several connected all-weather facilities, fully integrated into the stadium, are centred around an expanded North Stand with one larger, single upper tier above the existing lower tier, increasing stadium capacity to over 60,000.
A covered City Square fan zone, with a capacity of 3,000 and a wide variety of food and drink outlets, new club shop, museum and hotel, are all proposed in order to offer a broader range of dynamic matchday and non-matchday activities.
Modest workspace has also been included for use by start-up and medium-sized organisations looking to co-locate and collaborate with the Club, City Football Group and Etihad Campus partners. Matchday travel measures are currently being explored with partners from across the City, with a view to enhancing existing services. Alongside this, the Club is developing alternative methods for fans to travel to and from the stadium as part of its wider sustainable transport strategy.
Since 2008, City Football Group has overseen over £700m of investment into the Etihad Campus and East Manchester. This investment has supported thousands of jobs, with CFG and its partners delivering a range of facilities, including City Football Academy, the Connell Co-op College, the Manchester Institute of Health & Performance and Co-op Live, the UK’s biggest and most sustainable arena, which opens in December 2023.
In line with previous Club development proposals, the initiative would ensure that training, recruitment and employment opportunities are prioritised for local people. Opportunities would extend beyond the period of development works, with plans being explored for a long-term ‘skills academy’ programme designed to provide local people of all ages with qualifications to secure permanent jobs at the Etihad Campus.
Should a planning application be submitted and successfully approved, the construction programme would take place over a three-year period, with works staged to minimise disruption during the football season.
