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.”
Latest wave of ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton lineup in memory of the legendary Manc boxer announced
Danny Jones
Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton, and now a superb second wave of names has been added to AO Arena’s lineup.
Coming this summer, the legendary Manchester arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.
Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still only know bits and pieces about what’s in store, but a whole host of familiar Manc faces, famous British names, and figures from the world of sport have now been announced.
Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.
“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”
With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.
As you can see, now confirmed for the evening are the likes of Man United legend, Paul Scholes, darts icon Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, as well as fellow former boxers like Frank Bruno, Tony Bellew and more.
Local band, The K’s, were already confirmed as part of the in-person performances, but now the likes of Manc grime artists Bugzy Malone, fellow UK rapper Tinie Tempah, and The Lottery Winners are joining in, too, alongside loads more live music and entertainment set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”
So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.
Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.
The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.
You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.
This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.
Manchester’s cross club running social returns for 2026 and biggest summer party yet
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s now annual cross club running social is BACK for 2026, and 2026 is set to be the biggest to date, making the most of the summer vibes.
We’re already getting very excited for this one.
The Cross Club Social (CCS) first began in 2023 and continues to grow each year, with the organisers continuing to push the budget right to its limits in order to bring the Manc running community one big, beautiful and utterly brilliant bash.
Booking larger venues and putting together an even better schedule each and every year, marathon season is done for most of you – now it’s time to give yourselves a proper, well-deserved break.
Set up by local runners and DJs turned summer social specialists, Dave ‘Macca’ McLaughlin and Sophie ‘DG’ de Greenlaw, the upcoming Cross Club Social is the fourth edition of what has now become the go-to post-race season party.
Toasting not just everyone’s incredible achievements following the likes of the Manchester and London Marathons, but also celebrating the local running culture and various clubs as a whole, it really is the perfect opportunity to reap the rewards after months of training – i.e. with lots of drinks and dancing.
With help this year from Manchester Road Runners‘ (MRR) very own social secretary, Gemma Moore, the programming and full schedule looks more jam-packed than ever, with live sets from both Macca and DG, karaoke, a big pub quiz, giveaways and more.
In fact, there’s even set to be tiny talks, panels and other mini-mixers within the event itself.
Now spread across three whole rooms at Fairfield Social Club over in the Green Quarter, there’s room for all kinds of fun to be had.
Before we go any further, it’s also worth mentioning that this small setup is only run by a few, very dedicated and passionate people who love two things: running and partying, which is what makes their charitable efforts even more moving.
As it has done in the past, CCS ’26 will be teaming up with The 24-Hour Run Against Homelessness, who raise money for the region’s homeless population on behalf of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, amassing well over £70k last year alone.
That being said, part of your already very reasonable ticket price goes towards supporting this cause, with early bird tickets priced at just £11.25 (including booking fees), the second release for £13.45, and the final batch still only £15.65.
With lots of clubs already signed up to take part, including MRR, Run MCR, Ancoats Run Club, Levy Runners, Run The Streets – who’ll be hosting an optional social 5k to start the day – and many more, if you’re a runner based in the area, you don’t want to miss this one.
Once again, they’ve got the full venue to themselves all day long, and everyone is welcome; you can secure your spot at Cross Club Social 4 right HERE.
Danny Jones -
5th March 2025 
