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Manchester City FC
City
of Manchester Stadium
The Ground
After playing at
Maine Road for 80 years, the Club moved to the new City Of
Manchester Stadium in August 2003. The stadium was originally built
for the Commonwealth Games, held in 2002. After that event it was
agreed Manchester City would become the new
tenants, thus incurring the envy of clubs who would also relish the
chance to gain such a wonderful stadium. The club have spent £20m in
refitting costs, so
that it is now more of a football ground rather than an athletics
stadium. The running track has been removed and the stands extended
further downwards (adding a further 10,000 seats to the capacity) so
that the spectator areas are closer to the playing action.
The stadium has a bowl design and is totally enclosed. Both
stands on either side of the pitch are virtually identical, being
semi circular in shape, three tiered, with a row of executive boxes
running across the stands between the second and third tiers.
The ends are smaller in size, being two
tiers high, again with a row of executive boxes, but this time
running across the back just below the roof. Both these ends are of
the more traditional rectangular design. The second tier around the
stadium slightly overhangs the lower. The roof runs continuously
around the stadium stretching up over the stands and down to the
ends, creating a spectacular effect. There is a perspex strip just
below the roof and the spectator areas, allowing light to reach the
pitch. The upper tiers are steeper than the lower,
ensuring that spectators are kept close to the playing action.
Iain Macintosh adds; 'An interesting feature of the new
stadium is the openable louvres in each of the four corners. These
are located at either end of the level three seating in the
East and Colin Bell
stands. These are closed when in use, however, when the stadium is
unoccupied, they are opened to allow the
wind to blow through the enclosed bowl,
helping keep the grass pristine'. The
stadium also now has two large video screens in opposite corners of
the ground.
Peter Llewellyn adds; 'Many
City fans still call their new home Eastlands,
used when it didn’t have an official name. Some have
suggested The Blue Camp, others New Maine Road but officially it’s
The City of Manchester Stadium. Unlike many other stadiums and
stands, there are no letters across the seats, so there is nothing
like MCFC spelt out across them'.
Man City get my vote for the weirdest
looking mascots in the league. Whilst most clubs have elected to
re-create some furry creature, Man City have as their mascots a pair
of aliens called 'Moonchester' and 'Moonbeam'.
Future Stadium
Developments
The Club have announced ambitious plans
in partnership with Manchester City Council and New
East Manchester, to re-develop the area around the
stadium. Plans have yet to be announced as to what excatly this
will entail, but part of the scheme will involve an evaluation of
how the present capacity of the 48,000 stadium can be further
increased.
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