City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium is located in Manchester, England. It is also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons and is the home of Manchester City FC. It has a capacity of 53,400,making it the tenth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It was built to host the 2002 Commenwealth Games. The stadium, originally proposed as an athletics arena in Manchester’s bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics and was converted after the 2002 Commonwealth Games from a 38,000 capacity arena to a 48,000 seat football stadium. Manchester City F.C. agreed to lease the stadium from Manchester City Counciland moved there from Maine Road in the summer of 2003. The stadium was designed and engineered by Arup, whose design incorporated a cable-stayed roof structure which is separated from the main stadium bowl and suspended entirely by twelve exterior masts and attached cables. The stadium design has received much praise and many accolades, including an award from the Royal Institute of British Architectsin 2004 for its innovative inclusive building design and a special award in 2003from the Institution of Structural Engineersfor 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.
Location: Etihad Campus, Manchester, England
Public Transport: Manchester Piccadilly railway station. The station is a twenty-minute walk-away from the stadium. Piccadilly station also has a Metrolinktram stop (in the undercroft); from which regular trams along the East Manchester Line to Ashton-under-Lymeserve the stadium and Etihad Campus, with enhanced service frequencies and doubled tram units on matchdays.
Capacity: 53,400
Maine Road
Maine Road was the home of Mancester City FC from 1923 to 2003. By Manchester City’s last season at Maine Road in 2002-03, it was an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 35,150 and of haphazard design with stands of varying heights due to the ground being renovated several times over its 80-year history. The following season Manchester City moved to the City of Manchester Stadiumin East Manchester, a mile from the city centreand near Ardwick where the club originally formed in 1880. Before Maine Road, Manchester City FC played at Hyde Road in West Gorton, Manchester from 1887 until 1923.
Location: Moss Side, Manchester, England
Demolished: 2004
Capacity: 35,150
