The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes – is the home ground of Manchester City Football Club, the fifth-largest stadium in the Premier League and the twelfth-largest in the United Kingdom, with a seating capacity of 47,805.
The SportCity location but with a larger stadium, had been proposed for the main athletics arena in Manchester's failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics. In the 2002 Commonwealth Games bid, the capacity for the Games was to be 38,000, and after the games it would be converted to be 48,000. The stadium was built by Laing Construction at a cost of £112 million from a design by architectural consultants Arup Associates.
To ensure the long-term financial viability of the project after the Commonwealth Games, Manchester City F.C. leased the stadium from Manchester City Council as a replacement for Maine Road, but only after the northern segment of the stadium bowl was completed and the athletics track excavated to make way for an additional lower circumferential tier of seats. The conversion from a field and track arena to a football stadium cost the city council £22 million. Manchester City F.C. spent an additional £20 million installing bars, restaurants and corporate entertainment areas. The club moved into its new home during the summer of 2003.
In addition to athletics, the stadium has hosted the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, England football internationals, rugby league matches, boxing world title fights and music concerts.
Read more about City Of Manchester Stadium: Architecture, Names, SportCity, Reception, Recent Developments, Transport, Other Uses
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