Sport

Manchester City and Co-op Live reveal plans to upgrade and transform CityLink walking route to Etihad Stadium

The club is putting more money behind helping fans get to and from the stadium in the best way possible.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 15th February 2024

Man City and their soon-to-open neighbours Co-op Live have revealed plans to transform the existing CityLink walking route and bridge over to the Etihad Stadium.

The football club and brand-new music and entertainment venue have submitted a joint planning application to Manchester City Council to regenerate the existing route between the Holt Town tram stop and the Etihad Campus with plans to have initial works completed before Co-op Live opens in April.

Built in 2002 for the Commonwealth Games, the network hasn’t seen a significant update since but will soon provide fans not only with better alternative travel in line with City‘s environmental sustainability goals but also key upgrades to enhance the pre and post-match experience.

If/once approved, supporters can expect everything from interactive lighting installations, busking spots for performances by local musical talent, as well as pop-up food and drink stalls.

It is also said the new and improved walking route will see stewards from Co-op Live and the club staff the route before and after their respective events, along with better overall CCTV coverage.

Furthermore, in line with Co-op Live’s and Man City’s existing commitments to the wider regeneration of the local neighbourhood, an extensive clean-up of the walkway has already started with the trimming of overgrown trees and shrubs already completed, alongside improvements to directional signage.

Better still, the revitalised CityLink will also enjoy new creative visuals and artwork commissioned by Co-op Live and designed by local talent ahead of the venue’s opening, with further football and music design themes to be phased in over time.

The improvements to the walking route will be delivered in conjunction with the council, Transport for Greater Manchester and the arena’s naming rights partner, Co-op. This will also factor into the wider development of the surrounding Etihad Campus and it looks to become a ‘leading tourist destination’.

Plans approved for new ‘best-in-class’ entertainment destination at the Etihad Stadium

Read more:

Commenting on the plans to develop the walking route, Managing Director of Man City Operations, Danny Wilson, said: “Ensuring that our fans and visitors have more options for sustainable travel to and from the Etihad Campus is incredibly important as we continue to introduce new entertainment experiences to our site, and welcome more people to a growing year-round destination. 

“At the same time, in line with our ongoing and long-term commitments to the development and regeneration of our local area, we know that the upgraded ‘CityLink’ will benefit members of our local community who will now have a cleaner, brighter and safer walking route to use day in and day out.”

Gary Roden, Executive Director and General Manager at Co-op Live, added: “We are transforming the fan experience of live entertainment one step at a time.

“By investing in the regeneration of the walking route, we are providing a safe, and eco-friendly alternative to car travel and giving the local community a revitalised outdoor space that they can use all year round.” It isn’t the only recent announcement the club has made regarding improved fan travel.

A huge new bus network is being trialled to help Manchester City fans get to the Etihad on matchdays

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Manchester City/Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

A giant ‘carnival on bikes’ championing Black culture is coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Black Unity and Culture Bike Ride Manchester 2025

One of the biggest bike ride events in the country, dubbed a ‘carnival on wheels’, is coming to Manchester this year.

The Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR) was set up in London following the murder of George Floyd, which took place on 25 May 2020 and set shockwaves around the world.

Now, as the event is looking to reach across the UK, the event celebrating Black culture, joy, empowerment and unity is coming to our city region and its surrounding areas for the first time ever.

It’s set to be a truly brilliant and inspiring event.

Teaming up with London Marathon Events (LME) once again, the mass participation veterans have been lending expertise since 2021, and now they’ve reached a new five-year agreement to help continue strengthening BUBR and, hopefully, create a national movement by setting up in two new cities.

Manchester marks the first stage of the Black Unity Bike Ride expansion, which will see thousands take to cycling from Alexandra Park in Moss Side on a 12-mile route through the city and back to the beautiful outdoor space.

Aiming to mirror the success of the flagship BUBR event down in the capital, Manc participants and supporters can expect a vibrant, ‘festival feel’ with pumping music throughout.

Back at Alexandra Park, there’ll be even a huge pop-up home base for the event, bringing together Greater Manchester’s Black community with a big food and vendor village, more music and an uplifting atmosphere all day long.

The inaugural Manchester event will come just a fortnight after the sixth annual edition of the founding Black Unity Bike Ride in London, which sees waves of cyclists take on 17 miles, starting at Leyton Sports Ground and finishing in Dulwich Park.

black unity bike ride manchester 2025
BUBR London
Credit: Black Unity Bike Ride Manchester (supplied)

Promising route leaders, cheer zones and pitstops on the route, plenty of music, not to mention various indie food and drink traders pulling from a wide range of different ethnicities and cuisines, it’s this kind of full-on festival energy that BUBR Manchester is striving to capture.

Once again, it’s a ‘carnival on wheels’.

BUBR MCR 2025 will take place on Sunday, 17 August, the birthday of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a key political activist – the forefather of the ‘Garveyism ideology – as well as publisher, journalist and orator who has his own national day named after him in his home country of Jamaica.

He advocated for the empowerment and rights of African descendants and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), in addition to organising America’s first-ever Black nationalist movement.

You can see the event documentary film, which chronicles last year’s Black Unity Bike Ride in full down below. It really is a moving watch – pardon the pun.

Read more:

It’s also worth noting that the Black Unity Bike Ride Fest is completely FREE, as the goal is to get as many people as possible. You can sign up

BUBR founder, Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, said of the upcoming event: “What began as a bold idea on London’s streets has grown into a national movement. We are very excited to bring the event to Manchester, it has been an aspiration for a few years so we can’t wait until Sunday, 17 August.”

“BUBR has valued London Marathon Events’ support since 2021, and we are very proud to extend this relationship with a new five-year commitment. The partnership is a true statement of intent when it comes to community, inclusion and inspiring active lives.”

BUBR aren’t the only lot getting on their bikes this summer

BUBR has been to Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana and more; Manchester is up next and there’ll be another new home in 2026.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

Sport

Bryan Mbuemo transfer saga looks to finally be over as Manchester United agree deal with Brentford

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bryan Mbeumo to Man United transfer deal done

In one of the biggest transfer sagas of the 2025 summer transfer window, it looks like Manchester United have got their man, as an agreement with Brentford FC is in place and a move for Bryan Mbuemo looks to be a done deal.

Following weeks and weeks of speculation, minor nudges back and forth in the market, it has now been reported that French-born Mbuemo is heading to Man United, having made it apparent that Old Trafford was his desired destination for some time.

As confirmed by The Athletic‘s David Ornstein on Friday, 18 July, the Cameroonian international is expected to be paid for in chunks over the next few years.

Having initially entered a bid of around £45 million before bonuses last month, the west London club stuck to their guns and appear to have got their overall asking price for the player.

According to Ornstein, a trusted transfer source and ever-reliable journalist, United are expected to pay Brentford an estimated £65m for Mbeumo’s signature.

However, with add-ons of approximately £6m, the attacking midfielder’s total price comes out at more than £70m, making his a fee a sales record for a now established Premier League side who have become known as a ‘feeder/selling club’ with excellent recruitment.

It is also said that MUFC and INEOS have arranged for a payment structure that will see the transfer funded over the course of four-year instalments, with a contract valid until 2030 and the option to extend by a further 12 months.

Well-known for using the so-called ‘Moneyball‘ model to their success in recent years, Mbuemo was signed by the Bees back in 2019, when they were still in the Championship, and he cost just £5.8m from ES Troyes AC – also a club record signing at the time.

Fast forward just a few seasons, not to mention 121 goal contributions in all competitions (28 of those coming last season alone), and he’s been deemed worth about 12 times that amount.

Here are just a few reasons why they’ve been after him.

Still just 25 years old, it’s fair to say he fits the balance of age and experience that the club are looking to recruit, as well as boasting a profile that suits the system Ruben Amorim is looking to deploy with his ever-shifting squad.

At least on paper, anyway.

Meanwhile, outgoing deals are still expected to be completed before the end of the summer window, with key first-team players like homegrown Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and loanee Antony all still expected to depart.

Happy with the business, Reds?

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Pro:Direct Soccer (screenshot via YouTube)/Pedro Semitiel (via Flickr)

More Sport

Marple Hall School girls under 15s football team win English Schools' FA Cup National Champions

Cheshire

Stockport school sees under 15s girls football team crowned national champions

Bury FC respond to Noel Gallagher's 'shit' comments

Audio

Bury FC clap back at Oasis after Noel Gallagher’s dig at Heaton Park reunion show

Kolo Toure joins Man City coaching staff permanently

Sport

Kolo Touré joins Manchester City’s backroom staff on a permanent basis

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches