£300m Upgrade Of Man City’s Etihad Stadium Set For Approval
Plans for a major expansion of the Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City Football Club, are expected to be approved by Manchester City Council’s planning committee. The Stadium Business reports that the scheme will increase the capacity of the stadium to 60,000, and also create new entertainment and leisure venues.
Manchester City are one of the UK’s richest football clubs, with a value of around £4bn. They have had a highly successful season, winning a historic treble of the Premier League title, the Champions League title, and the FA cup under manager Pep Guardiola. They are the first English team to achieve this since Manchester United in 1999.
The club are seeking to capitalise on their success with an extension to the North Stand, and more hospitality facilities that would be open throughout the week on the concourse. A sky bar with views over the pitch will be built, alongside a new 391-bed hotel and conference suite, a TV studio, a new club shop and museum, and a covered City Square fan zone.
There are also plans for 43,000 sq ft of office space with co-working space for small to medium sized organisations, plus a series of integrated all-weather facilities. The cost of the scheme is estimated at £300m, with an overall ambition to transform the stadium into a visitor destination independent of scheduled football matches.
The club said that they expect the work to take up to three years to complete, with the potential to create 2,600 jobs, which local applicants would be given priority for.
Elsewhere, Wrexham Football Club have released plans for a 5,500 capacity Kop Stand at their Racecourse Ground. This would return the stadium to its original four-sided design. Part of the funding is expected to be sourced from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, while the club will also make a ‘significant contribution.’
Wrexham AFC was bought by the American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2021, and this year the club will be returning to the Football League for the first time in 15 years. The new owners have stated their ambition to upgrade The Racecourse Stadium to a venue worthy of hosting international sporting and entertainment events.
McElhenney and Reynolds said: “Back in February 2021, when we first became custodians of the club, it was identified that reverting the Racecourse Ground to a four-sided stadium was a priority for us.”
“The desire to achieve this objective has only been multiplied by the fact that the sold-out signs were a regular feature at the Racecourse Ground, and we want the club to be accessible to everyone, so the increased capacity is key to achieving this.”
“We would encourage everyone to support the planning application when it is submitted and would like to thank Wrexham Council, Welsh Government & Wrexham Glyndwr University (together with the Gateway Partnership) who are fully committed to making the new Kop a reality.”
The expansion plans also include new office and retail space, and community trust facilities.
If you are looking for a padstone calculator, please get in touch with us today.
Trackback from your site.
