City of Manchester Stadium

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City of Manchester Stadium
Eastlands
Location	Manchester, England
Broke ground	2002
Opened	25 July, 2002 (Athletics) 10 August, 2003 (Football)
Owner	Manchester City Council
Operator	Manchester City
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	£110 million
Architect	Arup Associates
Tenants
Manchester City
Capacity
47,726[1]
Dimensions
116.5 x 78 yards

The City of Manchester Stadium (also known as COMS or Eastlands) is a sports venue in Manchester, England. Originally designed as part of Manchester's failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at a cost of GB£110 million. After the Games it was converted for use as a football facility, and became the home of Manchester City F.C. who moved there from Maine Road in 2003, signing a 250 year lease.

The stadium is bowl shaped, with two tiers all the way round the ground and third tiers along the two side stands. With an all seater capacity of 47,726 it is currently the fourth largest stadium in the FA Premier League and tenth largest in the United Kingdom. On 4 October 2006 it was announced that the stadium will host the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.

Contents 1 History 2 Structure and facilities 3 Transport 4 Footnotes 5 External links

[edit] History

Plans to build a stadium in east Manchester were first formulated as part of the city's bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics, with Manchester City Council commissioning a design for an 80,000 capacity stadium on a brownfield site known colloquially as Eastlands. However, in October 1993 the games were awarded to Sydney. Manchester subsequently made a successful bid to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, using the stadium plans from the Olympic bid. In 1996, the planned stadium competed with Wembley to gain funding to become the English National Stadium,^[2] but the award was granted to Wembley for redevelopment. Following this the plans were scaled down, and the council reached an agreement with Manchester City F.C. to secure the long term future of the venue, whereby the stadium would be created with a 38,000 capacity for the Commonwealth Games, and then converted for use as a football venue with a capacity of 48,000. As part of the agreement, Manchester City F.C. signed a 250 year lease for the stadium in exchange for Maine Road, plus 50% of revenues for extra attendees above the capacity of Maine Road (a figure of £3million for the 2004-05 financial year).^[3]

The stadium's foundation stone was laid by Tony Blair in December 1999,^[4] and construction began in January 2000.^[5] The stadium was designed by Arup and constructed by Laing at a cost of approximately £110 million, £77 million of which was provided by Sport England, with the remainder funded by Manchester City Council.^[6] As built for the Commonwealth Games the stadium had a single lower tier running around three sides of the athletics track, and second tiers to the two sides, with an open air temporary stand at one end. The first public event at the stadium was the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games on 25 July 2002. Among the dignitaries present at the ceremony was Queen Elizabeth II. During the ten days of competition, the stadium hosted all athletics events and the rugby sevens. Four Commonwealth records were set at the stadium, including the women's triple jump and the womens's 5000 m.^[7]

After the Commonwealth games, extensive work was carried out on the stadium to convert it for use as a football stadium. The success of athletics events at the Commonwealth Games resulted in the decision to convert the stadium into a football venue receiving criticism from athletics figures such as Jonathan Edwards and Sebastian Coe,^[8] but redevelopment was necessary to give the venue a financially viable long-term future. The track was removed and relaid at other athletics venues, and the ground level was lowered to make way for an additional tier of seating. The temporary stand was dismantled, and replaced with a permanent structure of similar design to the opposite end. This extensive work took a year and added 12,000 seats. Manchester City F.C. moved to the new ground for the 2003/04 season. The conversion cost £35 million, which was paid for by the football club.

The first football match at the stadium was a friendly between Manchester City and Barcelona on 10 August 2003. Manchester City won the game 2-1, with the first goal at the stadium scored by Nicolas Anelka. The first competitive match followed four days later, a UEFA Cup contest between Manchester City and Welsh side TNS, which City won 5-0. The record football attendance at the stadium is 47,304, which was set at a Premier League game, when Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 on 28 February 2004.

The stadium has also hosted several other sporting events. It became the 50th stadium to host an England international football match when England played Japan on June 1, 2004, and on October 30, 2004, it played host to a rugby league match between Great Britain and Australia in the Tri-Nations series. In June 2005 the stadium hosted England's opening game in the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, setting an attendance record for the competition.^[9] It is rated as a 4 star stadium by UEFA, and has been selected to host the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.^[10]

Average League attendances

Season	Average
2005-06	42,856
2004-05	45,192
2003-04	46,384

Outside the football season the stadium hosts occasional concerts, and is one of the UK's largest music venues, having a maximum capacity of 60,000 for performances.^[6] The first concert at the venue was a performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2004. The stadium has also hosted concerts by U2, Oasis, Bon Jovi and Take That.

The stadium has a number of unofficial alternative names. Eastlands was used before the stadium was officially named and is still in common use, and City of Manchester Stadium is sometimes abbreviated to COMS when written. The Blue Camp, a pun on Barcelona's Nou Camp, found little favour.^[11] The stadium has generally received positive feedback from fans, coming second in a 2005 poll to find the United Kingdom's favourite football ground.^[12] However, the atmosphere inside the stadium has sometimes faced criticism, with detractors regarding the atmosphere as inferior to that of Maine Road.^[13]

[edit] Structure and facilities

The interior of the City of Manchester Stadium is a continuous oval bowl, with three tiers of seating at the sides, and two tiers at each end. While the seating is continuous, each side of the stadium has its own name in the manner of a traditional football ground. Initiallly, all sides of the stadium were named by compass direction (North Stand and South Stand for the ends, East Stand and West Stand for the sides). In February 2004 the West Stand was renamed the Colin Bell Stand in honour of the former player.^[14] The South Stand has officially been named the Key 103 Stand for sponsorship reasons since 2003,^[15] though this designation is largely ignored by supporters. A portion of the North Stand is designated the Family Stand, and is reserved for supporters with children. The East Stand is unofficially known as the Kippax after the corresponding stand at Maine Road. Supporters of visiting teams are allocated part of the South Stand. There are 68 Executive Boxes around the stadium. Along the West Stand, North Stand and East Stand. The boxes on the East and West stand seat 10 people inside and outsite, and the boxes on the North Stand seat 8 people inside and outside.

The stadium roof is toroidal is shape, and is suspended from steel cables attached to eight towers, which also provide access to the upper tiers of seating via spiral ramps. The areas without seating in each corner have moveable louvres, to allow ventilation of the pitch. Entry is gained by RFID smart card rather than the traditional manned-turnstile. This system can admit up to 1200 people per minute around all entrances.^[16] A service tunnel running under the stadium provides access for emergency vehicles, and allows the visiting team coach to enter the stadium directly. Inside the stadium are six themed restaurants, two of which have views of the pitch, and a number of conference facilities. The stadium is also licensed for marriage ceremonies.^[17]

The City of Manchester stadium has the widest pitch in English football.^[18] Unlike many stadiums, the pitch is naturally grown grass rather than turf grown elsewhere. The pitch is injected with 27,000 miles of plastic fibres 20 cm underneath the soil (Enough to stretch all the way around the world, and a little bit further), which bond with the roots of the grass. This system is called Desso.

The stadium is the centrepiece of an area known as Sportcity, which also includes several other sporting venues. Adjacent to the stadium is the Regional Athletics Arena, which served as a warmup track during the Commonwealth Games, and is now a 6,178 capacity venue which hosts national athletics trials and Manchester City reserve team games.^[19] The Manchester Velodrome and the National Squash Centre are a short distance from the stadium. In front of the stadium is the tallest sculpture in the UK, B of the Bang, built to commemorate the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In September 2006, Manchester City received planning permission to build an 85 m (279ft) wind turbine at the stadium. Designed by Norman Foster, the turbine will provide power for the stadium and nearby homes, and will make the City of Manchester Stadium the first in the world to be powered by its own turbine.^[20]

The City of Manchester Stadium has won a number of design awards, including the 2004 RIBA Inclusive Design Award for inclusivity in building design,^[21] and the 2003 Institution of Structural Engineers Structural Special Award.^[22]

On 30 January 2007 it was announced that the UK's first Super Casino would be built in the Sportcity area close to the stadium.^[23]

[edit] Transport

The City of Manchester Stadium is located to the east of Manchester city centre. The stadium site itself has 2,000 parking spaces, with another 8,000 spaces in the surrounding area provided by local businesses and schools working in partnership with the football club. The nearest railway station is Ashburys, a 15 minute walk south of the stadium, though services are limited due to the small size of the station. Manchester Piccadilly, which serves mainline trains from London, Birmingham and Edinburgh is a 20 minute signposted walk away. Several special bus services serve the stadium when events take place.

An extension to the Metrolink tram system with a stop at the stadium was announced in 2000, but following a government spending review the plan was put on hold in July 2004.^[24] However, in July 2006, funding for the extension was reinstated,^[25] and the stadium will have its own Metrolink station sometime between 2008-2010.

Preceded by Hampden Park Glasgow

UEFA Cup Final Venue 2008

Succeeded by Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadyumu İstanbul

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Description and photos on footballgroundguide.co.uk
• Stadium information and pictures on stadiumguide.com

Premier League venues, 2006-2007 v • d • e
Anfield | Boleyn Ground | Bramall Lane | City of Manchester Stadium | Craven Cottage Emirates Stadium | Ewood Park | Fratton Park | Goodison Park | JJB Stadium Madejski Stadium | Old Trafford | Reebok Stadium | Riverside Stadium | St James' Park Stamford Bridge | The Valley | Vicarage Road | Villa Park | White Hart Lane
UEFA 4-star rated football stadia v • d • e
Denmark Parken Stadium England Anfield City of Manchester Stadium St Mary's Stadium Stadium of Light Villa Park France Parc des Princes Stade Gerland Greece Karaiskákis Stadium Netherlands Philips Stadion Gelredome Sweden Råsunda Stadium Ullevi Stadium Switzerland St. Jakob Park

Coordinates: 53°28′59.30″N, 2°12′01.08″W