City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium (currently known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons)[3] is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600,[2] making it the 7th-largest football stadium in England and 11th-largest in the United Kingdom.[4]
"Etihad Stadium" redirects here. For the stadium in Melbourne formerly known as Etihad Stadium, see Docklands Stadium.Full name
City of Manchester Stadium
Etihad Campus
Manchester
M11 3FF
70
53,600 – Domestic football[2]
60,000 – Music concerts
41,000 (2002 Commonwealth Games)
54,693 (Manchester City vs Leicester City, 6 Feb 2016)
105 by 68 metres (114.8 yd × 74.4 yd)[2]
12 December 1999
2002–2003 (conversion)
2014–2015 (47,400 to 55,100 seats)
2023–2026 (55,100 to 61,470 seats)
£112 million (athletics stadium)
£22 million (football conversion)
£20 million (football fit-out)
Arup (stadium design)
KSS Design Group (interior fitout)
Populous (stadium expansion)
Laing Construction Ltd. (initial construction), Laing O'Rourke (stadium conversion & later expansion)
Watson Steel Ltd. (initial steelwork construction)
Built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games,[5] the stadium has since staged the 2008 UEFA Cup final,[6] England football internationals,[7] rugby league matches,[8] a boxing world title fight,[6][9] the England rugby union team's final group match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup[10] and summer music concerts during the football off-season.
The stadium, originally proposed as an athletics arena in Manchester's bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics,[11] was converted after the 2002 Commonwealth Games from a 38,000 capacity arena to a 48,000 seat football stadium at a cost to the city council of £22 million and to Manchester City of £20 million.[12][13]Manchester City agreed to lease the stadium from Manchester City Council and moved there from Maine Road in the summer of 2003.[14]
The stadium was built by Laing Construction at a cost of £112 million[15] and was designed and engineered by Arup,[13] whose design incorporated a cable-stayed roof structure and supported entirely by twelve exterior masts and cables.[16] The stadium design has received much praise and many accolades, including an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2004 for its innovative inclusive building design and a special award in 2003 from the Institution of Structural Engineers for its unique structural design.[5][17]
In August 2015, a 7,000-seat third tier on the South Stand was completed, in time for the start of the 2015–16 football season.[18] The expansion was designed to be in keeping with the existing roof design. A £300 million redevelopment programme of the existing North Stand entailing the construction of a new hotel with 400 rooms, covered fan park for 3,000 people and increased net capacity to 61,474 commenced in July 2023 and will be completed by the end of 2026.[19][20][21]
Specific
Bibliography
Further reading