City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium (currently known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest football stadium in England and 11th-largest in the United Kingdom.
Etihad Stadium | |
City of Manchester Stadium (2023) UEFA | |
| Full name | City of Manchester Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Etihad Campus Manchester M11 3FF |
| Public transit | Etihad Campus Velopark |
| Owner | Manchester City Council |
| Operator | Manchester City |
| Executive suites | 70 |
| Capacity | 53,400 – Domestic football 60,000 – Music concerts 41,000 (2002 Commonwealth Games) |
| Record attendance | 54,693 (Manchester City vs Leicester City, 6 February 2016) |
| Field size | 105 by 68 metres (114.8 yd × 74.4 yd) |
| Surface | Desso GrassMaster |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 12 December 1999 |
| Opened | 25 July 2002 (as athletics stadium) 10 August 2003 (as football stadium) |
| Renovated | 2002–2003 (conversion) |
| Expanded | 2014–2015 (47,400 to 55,097 seats) 2023–2026 (53,400 to 61,474 seats) |
| Construction cost | £112 million (athletics stadium) £22 million (football conversion) £20 million (football fit-out) |
| Architect | Arup (stadium design) KSS Design Group (interior fitout) Populous (stadium expansion) |
| Structural engineer | Arup |
| General contractor | Laing Construction Ltd. (initial construction), Laing O'Rourke (stadium conversion & later expansion) |
| Main contractors | Watson Steel Ltd. (initial steelwork construction) |
| Tenants | |
Manchester City F.C. (2003–present)
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| Website | |
| Etihad Stadium | |
Built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the stadium has since staged the 2008 UEFA Cup final, England football internationals, rugby league matches, a boxing world title fight, the England rugby union team's final group match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup 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, 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. Manchester City F.C. agreed to lease the stadium from Manchester City Council and moved there from Maine Road in the summer of 2003.
The stadium was built by Laing Construction at a cost of £112 million and was designed and engineered by Arup, whose design incorporated a cable-stayed roof structure and supported entirely by twelve exterior masts and cables. 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.
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. 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.