Manchester City have today unveiled fresh plans to redevelop their stadium and the wider Etihad Campus, including an increase in matchday capacity and more well-rounded fan facilities.
Revealing the rough plans and respective concept art on Tuesday, 28 February, City have stated that their aims are to create “a best-in-class fan experience and year-round entertainment and leisure destination at the Etihad Stadium“.
The news comes after the club announced that they were carrying out “feasibility studies” back in December, teasing that they were looking to explore future stadium development and new concepts for the wider Etihad Campus, as well as the surrounding area of Manchester.
Now, fans and the local community are being invited to share their input and feedback on the proposal from today until Sunday, 26 March when the period of consultation ends.
Manchester City is delighted to unveil concepts for an entertainment destination at the Etihad Stadium and begin a fan and community consultation 🏟️
In addition to expanding the stadium capacity with a redesigned North Stand — which would see the ground rivalling the likes of Arsenal and Spurs with more than 60,000 seats — City’s owners are looking to further develop the Eithad as a “relevant and competitive sport, leisure and entertainment destination.”
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As well as adding to several connected all-weather facilities that will be fully integrated into the stadium and wider sporting complex, a larger covered City Square fan zone with a capacity of 3,000, a wide variety of food and drink outlets, new club shop, museum and hotel are also part of the ambitious plans.
Moreover, a “modest workspace” has even been proposed for SMEs (start-up and medium-sized organisations) looking to collaborate with the club and the City Football Group (CFG) at large.
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CFG has made it clear that they are committed to not only increasing numbers but offering “a broader range of dynamic matchday and non-matchday activities” all year-round — i.e. making the Etihad more than just a football stadium.
As part of the statement, the club went on to state that more than £700 million has already been invested into the local area of East Manchester and this latest raft of designs will see thousands more jobs created than they already have.
Fans and the local community are also being invited to a temporary exhibition at City Square from Saturday, 4 March, as well as attend one of three consultation events in the coming weeks:
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Beswick Library, 60 Grey Mare Lane, M11 3DS — Thursday 9 March 2023, 15:00 to 18:30
The Foyer at the National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, M11 4DQ — Monday 13 March 2023, 15:00 to 19:00
Church of the Apostles, Ridgway Street, Miles Platting, M40 7FY — Wednesday 15 March 2023, 15:30 to 18:30
Featured Image — Manchester City/Wikimedia Commons
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
28th February 2023 
