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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
Man City Women put an end to Chelsea’s unbeaten run as they take Champions League lead
Danny Jones
Manchester City Women have taken a crucial lead in the Champions League quarter-final after making it past Chelsea to finally end their lengthy unbeaten run.
The Blues took on the WSL leaders for the second time amidst a series of four consecutive meetings across all competitions this month, having only just lost to Sonia Bompastor’s side in the League Cup Final this past weekend.
Missing out on the trophy could have seen City dip their heads but returning interim head coach Nick Cushing made sure that his team responded by bouncing back.
Now taking a 2-0 lead into the second leg of the quarters, there is still the chance of winning silverware this season – though there is definitely still work to be done.
Man City Women managed to end the East Londoners’ winning streak thanks to a brace from substitute Vivianne Miedema, who came on in the second half and managed to open the scoring by sniffing out a rebound off the bar just before the hour mark.
The turn and cross in from Mary Fowler – a shining light in City’s season thus far who created plenty of big chances and nearly grabbed another assist – was sublime but the instinct to swallow up the loose ball proved to be crucial in giving the home team the edge all night.
In truth, the initial header from Laia Aleixandri was strong and kept out by an impressive save, but Miedema’s willingness to cover great ground meant she was in the right place at the right time.
You could say it was a similar story for her second.
Notching her second of the night and 31st goal overall in just 35 UWCL games, a simple side-step to change lanes as she ran into the box
✨ MAGIC MIEDEMA
She let's the ball to the work and then places it beautifully to double Manchester City's lead!
Speaking after the match, the 28-year-old forward said the result is “a massive confidence boost for us going into the next two [fixtures against Chelsea]”, insisting that the fight shown in the first half half game them the belief to say “we can actually win today.”
As for Cushing, he told the club’s media shortly afterwards: “I was confident if she got chances, she’d score, we just have to create those moments for her. Tonight, we saw many and she thinks she should’ve had a hat-trick!”
City Women play Chelsea for a third time this weekend, once again hosting them at the Joie Stadium only this time in the league, before playing that decisive second leg down in the capital next Thursday, 27 March. Will a two-goal advantage be enough? We’ll have to wait and see.
Sir Gareth Southgate says young men ‘need better role models’ – and more of them
Danny Jones
Ex-footballer and England manager Sir Gareth Southgate has called on contemporary society to do better when it comes to young men, insisting that boys today need real role models.
In fact, not to put words in his mouth, but he isn’t just calling out for more of them; more precisely, he believes they need better ones than some of the figures who have found a following in recent years.
Speaking in one of his first public addresses since being knighted in the 2025 New Year’s Honours list and one of a scarce few since stepping down as the Three Lions boss, Southgate gave a lengthy speech as part of the BBC’s annual ‘Richard Dimbleby Lecture’.
The former Crystal Palace, Middlesborough and Aston Villa defender touched on a number of topics in his discussion, including the troubling rise of “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers, whose sole drive is for their own gain” and are finding increasing popularity on social media.
Southgate has strong opinions on the current archetype of ‘role models’ that young men are gravitating towards.
Southgate went on to express the crucial nature of “identity, connection and culture” in contemporary society, insisting that current values are drifting off course.
He went on to state that because of the swirling questions surrounding masculinity, “young men end up withdrawing, reluctant to talk or express their emotions […] They spend more time online searching for direction and are falling into unhealthy alternatives like gaming, gambling and pornography.”
Southgate also believes that “if we make life too easy for young boys now, we will inevitably make life harder when they grow up to be young men”, arguing that we are at risk of creating a culture where they fear failure so much that “they fail to try, rather than try and fail.”
Drawing from his own experience as a player and his famous penalty miss in Euro ’96, as well as his multiple attempts at winning a major tournament as the national team coach, he reflected on how these experiences made him who he is today – experiences he navigated through thanks to role models.
Put more simply, he suggested that we need to return focus to the importance of teachers, sports coaches, youth groups and ‘proper’/traditional role models, rather than simply allowing the next generation of young men to resort to poor examples online.
"We have to show young men that character is more important than status."
Gareth Southgate demands leaders step up to become positive role models for 'isolated' young men. pic.twitter.com/FMlnqjppQi
The timing of Southgate’s speech hasn’t been lost on large swathes of the British public, in particular, in light of the hit Netflix drama, Adolescence.
Revolving around the story of a young boy accused of a violent crime towards a young girl, the four-part series touches on incel culture, the growing ‘manosphere’ digital community, controversial figures like Andrew Tate and more.
You can listen to Southgate’s lecture on young men and the importance of role models in full HERE.
Danny Jones -
5th March 2025 
