Manchester City Planning to Extend Etihad Stadium?

Manchester City have steadily increased the crowd capacity of the Etihad Stadium since moving into the ground in 2003.

The Etihad Stadium was originally designed and built to house the Commonwealth Games in 2002. As an athletics stadium the ground had a capacity of around 38000. Throughout the planning of Manchester’s Commonwealth games bid, the plan was always that Manchester City would move to occupy the ground. This sustainable long term future for the stadium and the surrounding area was a key factor in the economic planning associated with the games.

Following the Commonwealth games a significant programme of refurbishment and rebuilding took place at the Stadium in preparation for Manchester City moving into the ground. This involved the excavation of the stadium to a depth of 30 metres to allow the construction of the lower tier of the stands, including the dressing rooms and the building of a whole new stand.

This initial work was completed in time for the opening of the ground as a football arena in Summer 2003 with a capacity of around 48000. Further building work took place in 2014/15 as the third tier of the South Stand was constructed adding a further 7000 to the attendance figure.

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The actual current spectator capacity at the ground is variable depending upon the type of fixture being played. The maximum capacity is around 55097 making it the 4th largest in the Premier League. The capacity is reduced for UEFA competitions to 53000 and for segregation reasons varies for domestic games. Interestingly the capacity for concerts at the Stadium is around 61000.

When planning permission was granted for the extension in 2015 it was also granted for alterations to the North Stand, to increase its height to become a three tier stand to match the other stands at the ground. Manchester City decided not to undertake this building work at the time but recently it would appear that the Club are consulting on various designs to extend the Stadium.

In recent weeks The Club have undertaken a series of focus groups with fans regarding designs for the next phase of redevelopment at the Etihad. According to fans who were present the Club are considering a design of building a large second tier, making a large “home end” in the North Stand. This design may include safe standing rail seating if the current government review grants permission. Such a design may bring the crowd capacity up to between 61000 and 65000.

An increase in capacity to above 60000 would make the Etihad the third largest in the Premier League. All redevelopments potentially cause disruptions for fans, as its likely some fans will be displaced by the move.

Rumours suggest Manchester City are planning to begin construction of any extension to the North Stand following the end of the current season and its likely the work will take around 12 months to complete. Much of the development would take place around the existing stand, with a new stand built behind the existing one and the roof removed.

However the redevelopment will give Manchester City the opportunity to create a pricing structure of tickets which really appeals to fans to ensure the Club are able to maintain their current 98% occupancy rate.