Manchester, United Kingdom
Manchester City is a football club with a proud history that has accelerated its development in line with its consistent on-pitch success in recent years.
Affordable ticket prices, on-pitch success and a dedicated local, national and international fanbase has attracted a lengthy season-ticket and match day waiting list. To keep their matches as accessible as possible it became necessary for the club to develop a strategy for expanding their home ground, Etihad Stadium.
"A most impressive response to tricky engineering challenges that resulted in a stadium expansion with minimal spectator disruption and a complementary architectural form. A clever and seamless intervention in a geometrically complex cable net structure."
Working closely with Manchester City, Populous conceived a phased development that would cause minimum disruption during the football season, allowing the team to continue playing at the Etihad throughout construction. The first phase of the project began in March 2014 and saw the South Stand expand by 6,000 seats in time for the start of the 2015/16 Premier League season. This initial phase included three extra rows of seats pitch side, adding a further 1,600 to the overall capacity. In addition to the capacity increase, the expanded design included improvements to the hospitality facilities, new corporate suites, and developments of the land surrounding the stadium, heightening the fan experience.
The stadium expansion respected the identity of the original City of Manchester Stadium, utilising the same masts and tensioned cable net roofstructure that make the building such a recognisable landmark, with additions to the external structure that complement the existing façade. The most noticeable difference is the use of internal stairs, rather than the original vertical circulation ramps, providing views out from the concourse and new hospitality spaces which would otherwise have been obscured.
