By Paul Nicholson
April 1 – Manchester City have quickly followed up the build of their new £200 million academy and training complex with the appointment of engineering company Laing O’Rourke to start work on the expansion of the Etihad Stadium from 47,670 capacity to 62,170.
Planning permission was granted in February and ground work will begin immediately.
The first phase will be an extension of the South Stand by 6,000 increasing the stadium capacity to 54,000 and will be complete for the start of the 2015/16 season.
The club said that the expansion will enable the club to introduce a £299 season ticket as well as “improve the hospitality offering on site”
The expansion project, said the club, “provides procurement and employment opportunities for the local community”. 160 people will be employed directly on the project at its peak, while up to 110 new match day jobs will be created in this first phase.
Tom Glick, City’s chief commercial officer, told the club’s official website: “The waiting list for the expanded Etihad is already close to capacity and we look forward to seeing a sell-out 54,000-seat stadium as we open the 2015 season.” The new academy and training complex opens this summer.
On completion the Etihad will be the third largest stadium in England behind Wembley and near-neighbour Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
The stadium was originally completed, by Laing Construction, in 2002 for the Commonwealth Games at a cost of £112 million. The stadium has had conversion work undertaken twice subsequently at a combined cost of £42 million.
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