Etihad Stadium

The Etihad Stadium stands in east Manchester on the site of the former Bradford Colliery. It began as an athletics arena proposed for Manchester’s 2000 Olympic bid before becoming the centrepiece of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. After the Games the stadium was converted into a football ground at a cost of £42 million, with Manchester City Council paying £22 million and the club contributing £20 million. The conversion added 23,000 permanent seats, raising capacity to about 48,000. Architects Arup used a cable-stayed roof supported by twelve exterior masts, a design later praised by the Royal Institute of British Architects. The stadium has hosted major sporting events beyond football. It staged the 2008 UEFA Cup final, England football internationals and rugby league matches. England’s rugby union team played their final pool game of the 2015 Rugby World Cup here. Summer music concerts fill the venue during the close season, and a 7,000-seat third tier was added in 2015. A £300 million redevelopment of the North Stand is under way, adding a 400-room hotel and covered fan park. The stadium’s design has won awards for innovation and structural engineering. Visitors walk through wide concourses lined with bars and restaurants before reaching the seating tiers. The lower bowl wraps around three sides of the pitch, while the South Stand’s new third tier rises steeply above the rest. The cable-stayed roof gives an unobstructed view from every seat. Outside, landscaped plazas lead to the main entrances, and the surrounding area includes the National Cycling Centre and other sports facilities. The stadium’s east Manchester setting is easily reached by tram and bus from the city centre.