Manchester City have officially revealed the hotel partner for their upcoming resort and entertainment destination at the Etihad Stadium.
The Eithad renovations have been underway for some time now, with Man City not only looking to expand their home ground capacity but deliver some major renovations to the stadium complex and wider campus, including a museum, ‘sky bar’ and, most notably, a brand-new on-site hotel.
Anyone travelling through or even near the major development and increasingly popular tourist destination, especially given Co-op Live’s colossal presence over in East Manchester, will have seen the bare bones of the hotel being constructed – but now we know what it will be called and who is running it.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 5 March, City’s new Etihad Stadium hotel will be called ‘The Medlock’ and is set to be operated by the global hospitality company, Radisson.
The Medlock – one of the biggest hotels in Manchester, is opening in the entertainment district in 2026 📆🏨
As you can see from the new CGI images, supporters and visitors to the area, in general, have now been given another glimpse at the vision of what The Medlock will look like.
ADVERTISEMENT
Featuring a total of 401 rooms, a range of suites, deluxe and standard rooms, not to mention a luxury penthouse offering, the latest addition to the Radisson Hotel Group will immediately become one of the biggest in the region when it is completed.
Estimated to open towards the latter end of 2026, guests staying at the Etihad’s Medlock hotel will also have access to a wide variety of food and drink outlets, a roof walk akin to the kind seen at Spurs’ stadium built back in 2019, as well as tour experiences at the aforementioned new museum space.
ADVERTISEMENT
The project will also see commercial office space in the expanded stadium area, with a wide range of conference and event options.
As one of the world’s largest hoteliers (1,520 venues, to be specific), The Medlock is set to join the Radisson Blu and Radisson Hotel portfolio as a four-star establishment, with the upper-upscale hotel being overseen by industry-recognized hotel management company, Valor Hospitality.
Speaking in an official statement as part of the announcement, City Football Group (CFG) CEO Roel de Vries said: “Today’s announcement is an exciting moment as we reveal the name of our hotel as ‘The Medlock’ and welcome globally renowned hotelier, Radisson Hotel Group to the Etihad Campus.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Radisson’s enthusiasm and passion for the Club’s hotel project is clear, and we firmly believe that Radisson’s industry experience together with the Club’s ambition and vision for the hotel is the perfect combination.
“We look forward to working with Radisson as we move towards the opening of the hotel and a year-round sports and entertainment destination that our fans and visitors from both the UK and around the world can enjoy.”
As for Radison, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Development Officer, Elie Younes added: “Our brands are always relevant to both our owners and our guests. We are thrilled to collaborate with Manchester City Football Club and create a global flagship hotel within the world-class Etihad Campus in Manchester.
This hotel is a fantastic addition to a growing portfolio of several stadium-based properties in the UK, like the renowned cricket ground, Edgbaston Stadium, the Allianz Stadium Twickenham, the Home of England rugby, and worldwide in India and China.
“We are grateful for Manchester City’s trust in our brands and confident that our long-standing cooperation will unlock further opportunities for all stakeholders.”
Luke Littler announces split from management ahead of 2025 World Grand Prix
Danny Jones
Darts sensation Luke Littler has announced a split from his now former management company, ZXF Sports, with the decision coming on the eve of this year’s World Grand Prix.
Warrington-born Littler has become a superstar in his own right over the past few years, following his incredible breakthrough onto the professional scene, and it appears as though the local lad is now looking to keep moving onward and, hopefully, upward.
Confirming the parting of ways with ZXF online, Littler told his followers on social media that he will now be seeking out “new representation”.
The 2025 World Grand Prix of darts got underway on Monday evening, with Luke Littler’s first match coming against Gian van Veen on Tuesday, 7 October.
Luke Littler has announced he’s parted ways with his management team, wonder if Modus will get him now? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Le7vyowOAt
Sharing a statement this week, the 18-year-old wrote: “I want to say a massive thank you to ZXF Sports, and especially [manager] @Martin_foulds84, for everything they’ve done for me so far in my career.
“We’ve had some amazing times together over the last 5 years, and I’ll always be grateful for the advice and support that’s helped me get to this point.
“As my career moves forward and the schedule gets busier, we’ve agreed it’s the right time for me to take the next step with new representation. Martin has been brilliant for me, and I wish him and everyone at ZXF the very best. Excited for what’s ahead.”
ZXF Sports, which is run by Foulds, heads up the PR for multiple other big darts pros, such as Chris Dobey, Andy Boulton, and Stockport’s very own Nathan Apsinall.
Littler has often referred to ‘The Asp’ as his de facto older brother on the senior circuit, having been under the same representation since 2020, when ‘The Nuke’ was still moving over from the junior scene.
Safe to say their close relationship is one that fans will be hoping remains close.
At this time, it’s still unclear if the North West sports personality has a new team lined up, but you can bank on plenty of suitors having already courted him.
Many now expect his partnership with PR company, Soapbox, to potentially ramp up – or, indeed, for leading elite darts management Modus to make him a marquee signing for the brand.
Their clients include Raymond van Barneveld and regular title rival, Michael van Gerwen.
Once again, the youngster takes on the world no.15 Dutchman tonight (Tues, 7 Oct) at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, England, with the second slate of fixtures in round one starting from 6pm.
Featured Images — DARTS NOW (screenshot via YouTube)
Sport
Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly earns surprise England call-up
Danny Jones
Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly has earned himself a surprise England call-up for this upcoming international break.
The impressive young utility player, who has been deployed as both a defender and a midfielder under Pep Guardiola, has proved to be a popular member of the squad among Man City fans.
A north Manchester-born academy product, O’Reilly has represented the Three Lions throughout various age groups across the youth level, but this England camp will be his first senior call-up.
Yet another local lad flying the flag for 0161 in the national team.
The 20-year-old arrived at St George’s Park on Monday afternoon along with a number of ther young English stars such as Myles Lewis-Skelly, Elliot Anderson, Jarrel Quansash, who have recently been integrated by national team boss, Thomas Tuchel.
O’Reilly has been added to the squad following the withdrawal of fellow defender Reece James, with the Chelsea fullback having picked up yet another injury in the Premier League.
As detailed by England Football: “The Chelsea captain sustained an injury playing for his club over the weekend and has been ruled out of England’s October internationals following medical assessments.”
With O’Reilly able to play not only in defence but on either flank, as he has already done in Guardiola’s ever-fluid system, the versatile Man City rotation player isn’t just looking more and more like a first-team star but could soon be a capped England international.
Looking forward to seeing more of this on the big stage:
As you can see, Pep has continued to deploy him in even the biggest of games, and it seems as though he’s clearly impressed Tuchel enough to make him first in the queue to replace James.
Rightly so, we’d hasten to add; it remains to be seen whether or not he will feature in the two upcoming fixtures against Wales and Latvia.
Commenting on the moment of recognition, City expressed their pride and congratulations, insisting that the decision “also helps further cement what has been a quite magnificent start to the season for the 20-year-old” in which he’s already made nine first-team appearances across all competitions.
That now makes the number of Greater Manchester-born/based players in the current England squad to four (just one of those being from Man United in Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford) – an admittedly smaller number than we’ve come to expect over the years.
Nico O’Reilly signed a fresh new deal at Manchester City just last month.
Danny Jones -
5th March 2025 
