February 17 – Manchester City’s status as one of the new elite of European football has been further enhanced by plans to increase the capacity of their Etihad stadium from 48,000 to over 62,000.
Local councillors have given the go-ahead for the enlargement, aiming to be completed by the 2015-16 season.
City moved to their new home in 2003. It initially had a capacity of 38,000 when it was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the latest expansion will see the stadium become the second largest in the Premier League, behind rival Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground.
It will be City’s second major construction project in quick succession following the building of a £200 million City Football Academy adjacent to the stadium and continues the remarkable transformation since the club, who face Barcelona in the Champions League this week, was taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.
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