MANCHESTER CITY have become one of European football’s dominant forces over the last 15 years.
The Etihad Stadium has provided the backdrop for the Cityzens as they have won six of the last seven Premier League titles, cemented themselves in history as European champions and created a legacy in the English game thanks to their Treble triumph.
Manchester City are undergoing a huge renovation at the Eithad Stadium[/caption]
The Etihad has been the backdrop to some of City’s most iconic moments[/caption]
But it hasn’t always been a packed out stadium fit for four-in-a-row champions.
In fact, City have invested millions into redeveloping their ground after moving out of their iconic home of Maine Road back in 2003.
The City Group have strived to give the club a home that made them look the part and matched their ambition on the pitch.
And the billionaire bigwigs in charge don’t plan on stopping any time soon, with Man City in the midst of sensational redevelopment plans that will make the Etihad one of the best stadiums in the country.
History
Man City would probably be considered as a ‘superclub’ these days, but that hasn’t always been the case.
Founded in 1880, Man City’s first permanent home was a place called Hyde Road.
The Manchester ground played host to City from 1887 to 1923 and had humble beginnings that meant players had to change in a local pub before kick off for the first nine years in the ground.
For most football fans who can remember a pre-takeover Man City, Maine Road is considered as the “real home” of the Cityzens.
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Maine Road hosted Man City’s home games for 80 years, seeing the club through nine relegations, nine promotions and six league titles.
City even shared the iconic ground with fierce rivals Manchester United for a few years after Old Trafford had suffered damage from bombing during the war.
But their memories at Maine Road came to an end in 2003, when the decision to close the 35,150-seat stadium was made.
Now the stadium has been demolished and a housing estate with over 400 properties stands in its place.
City spent 80 years playing at Maine Road before moving to the Etihad Stadium[/caption]
A housing development now sits in place of the iconic stadium[/caption]
The Etihad story
The Etihad Stadium is synonymous with Manchester City these days, but before the Premier League heavyweights moved into the ground it was home to a completely different sport.
Built for an initial £112m, the stadium began life as an athletics arena for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Unusually, the ground was custom-built to be changed almost immediately.
After the conclusion of the 10-day event, work began to convert the single-tiered 38,000 seat athletics stadium into a two-tiered 48,000 seat football stadium for City to call home.
The running track was removed and the ground was lowered inside the bowl to make room for a football pitch and some more seats in a nearly year-long renovation project.
A few things were vastly different when City first moved into the ground back in 2003.
Firstly, they hadn’t sold the naming rights to their new ground yet – meaning it was still called the City of Manchester Stadium.
While they were also a relegation battling side, finishing 16th in their first season in the new ground.
They also weren’t owned by Sheikh Mansour and the City Football Group, who didn’t take ownership of the club until 2008.
The new unfathomably rich owners had big plans for the stadium when they arrived, and they didn’t take long to put those plans into action.
The City of Manchester Stadium was built in 2002[/caption]
The stadium was used for the Commonwealth Games before being converted into a football stadium[/caption]
What upgrades have been made so far?
Unbelievably, the Etihad is still owned by Manchester City Council.
But it’s leased to Man City for a reported £3m per season in a 250-year agreement that means the club are responsible for all operating, maintenance and future costs.
City renegotiated their lease to gain naming rights for the stadium after their takeover in 2011, meaning they now pocket an eye-watering £15m per season for the privilege of calling their home the Etihad Stadium.
That sort of cash helped the club to reinvest into the ground after the success of winning their first two Premier League titles.
In August 2015, City unveiled an expansion that added a 7,000-seat third tier to the South Stand – subsequently increasing the Etihad’s capacity to 55,000.
Since then there has been heavy investment into the hospitality areas, concourse food and drink stands and the addition of statues of club legends including Colin Bell, Francis Lee, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.
Depsite the Etihad’s true capacity being 55,000, City are playing in front of maximum crowd of 52,900 this season due to new work going on.
The improved facilities now makes Man City one of the premier locations not just for football, but for music too.
The stadium has hosted superstar artists such as Oasis, One Direction, Beyonce and Taylor Swift.
And it’s not just stadium tours that are playing at the Etihad campus either.
City football group, alongside developers Oak View Group and superstar investor Harry Styles, have built a 23,500 capacity indoor music arena called Co-op Live.
The arena, which is located on the Etihad campus just a stone’s throw away from the stadium itself, opened in May last year with the intention of providing entertainment to Man City fans and the wider community.
It has already hosted stars such as Paul McCartney and Sam Fender, and is scheduled to welcome Olivia Rodrigo, Bruce Springsteen and Billie Eilish later this year.
That project is believed to have cost all involved parties a combined fee of around £365million, yet City still aren’t slowing down with their investments elsewhere.
Sheikh Mansour has already invested heavily into the Etihad Stadium[/caption]
City sold the rights to name the stadium to Etihad[/caption]
The stadium has become a more fitting home to the team’s achievements[/caption]
Iconic moments and memories have made the Etihad feel like home to the fans used to the Maine Road ground[/caption]
Some moments have been immortalised with statues outside the ground already[/caption]
Why now?
For Man City, it’s not about catching up – it’s about being the best.
That philosophy has changed City on the pitch over the past 15 years and the owners want to make sure it echoes throughout every part of the club.
At its current reduced capacity of 52,900, due to the ongoing work on a new expansion, the Etihad is only the seventh largest capacity football stadium in England – not particularly fitting for the best team in the country over the last seven years.
Plans to redevelop and add more seats would likely see it become the fifth largest ground in the country, boasting a similar capacity to title rivals like Arsenal and Liverpool’s grounds.
But it’s not just about cramming in fans for City, it’s about improving the facilities as a whole.
Everyone has seen the incredible features at Tottenham’s new state-of-the-art stadium, the stunning changes at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu and Barcelona‘s ambitious Camp Nou project.
Even Fulham have just installed a swimming pool at Craven Cottage.
If City want to maintain their image as one of the elite, they have to make sure they look the part while doing so.
City don’t just want thousands of seats, they want fans to have an unforgettable experience on a matchday.
And crucially, a smaller less appealing ground means less matchday revenue, which in the age of PSR and FFP means cold hard cash that most modern owners don’t want to miss out on.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is leaps and bounds ahead of others in the Premier League[/caption]
Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu recently had a massive makeover[/caption]
So, what are City doing?
How exactly do you ensure that you’re amongst the best?
Well, first you start with your capacity, and the four-in-a-row champions are renovating their North Stand in an expansion that will see their stadium capacity rise to around 62,000.
The plans, which are due to be completed during the 2025/26 season, will reportedly add around 7,000 seats to the stadium.
But it’s not just about more fans, it’s also about increasing the noise and atmosphere in process. For City, that means adding a huge standing area of the Etihad crowd.
That expansion will include 3,000 safe-standing rail seats, making it the Premier League’s largest safe standing area.
While they have also announced plans to “create a legacy by establishing new pathways for the next generation of Manchester City fans to enjoy matches”.
That is expected to mean City will set aside a number of tickets for fans under the age of 21.
Progression is also important for City too and as such, other areas of the redeveloped stand will be made to accommodate different cultures and younger fans with breakout spaces, religious rooms and alcohol-free zones.
A brand new hospitality area will also be included in the additions which will house 800 guests and include a 500-seat food hall and a premium bar.
Plus fans can look forward to an incredible Sky Bar with views overlooking the pitch and a stadium roof walk experience.
The changes aren’t just happening inside the stadium either.
Work is also underway on the ‘City Square fan zone’, a 3,000- capacity fan zone that will offer up food and drink as well as screens for supporters to watch the match on the Etihad campus.
A new club shop and a museum will also be added to the surrounding area to help improve on the matchday experience.
And if you’re wondering where you can stay nearby to be close to all the action then City have you covered – they’re also building a 400-bed hotel.
Man City are in the midst of an incredible redevelopment of the North Stand at the Etihad[/caption]
They also plan to build a hotel and redevelop the stadium’s surrondings[/caption]
The Etihad will have the largest safe-standing are in the Premier League after the redevelopment is complete[/caption]
The project will also add a fan park for supporters on matchdays[/caption]
Work has already started on expanding the North Stand[/caption]
What will it cost?
Since Sheikh Mansour came through the door at the Etihad he hasn’t stopped writing cheques, be it for superstar players or renovated stands.
And now he’s about to part ways with the biggest single payment since his arrival, with City’s incredible new plans for the Etihad.
City’s mammoth expansion project is going to cost an eye-watering £300MILLION.
That hefty price tag isn’t just almost THREE TIMES the original cost of the ground itself, but it’s also £90MILLION MORE than Sheikh Mansour forked out to buy the club back in 2008.
In comparison, Liverpool just paid £80m for their Anfield Road Stand expansion, while Fulham spent £120m on their Riverside Stand.
Is it all worth it?
Well, the project is already underway, so Sheikh Mansour will certainly be hoping that the investment is worth his while.
And it definitely could be.
Man City earned a whopping £76.5MILLION in matchday revenue over the course of last season.
It’s estimated that figure could rise to an incredible £86.4MILLION with the addition of the proposed 7,000 new seats.
That improved matchday revenue figure would move City into a similar bracket to their rivals, but would still have them trailing behind the likes of Arsenal (£128m), Spurs (£103m) and Manchester United (£127m).
However, City could pocket even more cash through the fan park and hotel that are coming to the Etihad too.
What does the future hold?
We know that the immediate future holds cranes, scaffolding and building work as City work towards getting their project over the line at some point during the 2025/26 campaign.
That deadline is set for the new North Stand to be completed, but City Square fan zone, hotel and more are expected to be completed by late 2026.
Beyond 2026 the sky is the limit for Man City.
Don’t expect any more major changes in the immediate future, but with the club growing in stature season by season, there’s certainly going to be a desire for the stadium to grow with it.
City won’t sit around and let their rivals bypass them for very long and will always be striving to be at the forefront of European football on all fronts.
And soon there’ll be even more room for fans to sit back and watch it all unfold.
