Manchester City plans for Etihad Stadium expansion move step closer

Manchester City’s plans to extend the Etihad Stadium’s capacity to more than 60,000 have moved a step closer.

The reigning Premier League champions have announced they are to share concepts with fans and neighbours as they seek to turn the ground, and its surroundings, into a leading global sports and entertainment area.

Should a planning application be submitted and successfully approved, the construction programme would take place over a three-year period, with works staged to minimise disruption during the football seasons.

City are proposing a new, two-tier North Stand (currently home to the Family Stand) with a large single upper tier increasing total capacity beyond 60,000.

Concept designs also include a covered City Square fan zone with a capacity for 3,000 people. Currently this is an open air entertainment space where music, chat and big-screen entertainment are available free before games.

There are also plans for a club shop, a museum, food and beverage outlets and a hotel – all fully integrated into the work.

Fans and the local community have until Sunday, March 26, to comment on the concepts, which will be available to view at several places around Manchester.

This latest stage of the process follows the club’s announcement in December last year that feasibility studies were under way.

Recent financial charges laid by the Premier League, and now in the hands of lawyers, have not derailed the ambitious scheme. The current champions are determined that it is business as usual.

City moved from their much-loved, iconic Maine Road home in 2003 after an 80-year stay. The Etihad Stadium was converted from an athletics arena used in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games into a 48,000-capacity football ground.