Etihad Stadium

The stadium was built as the City of Manchester Stadium for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with an athletics track and a temporary stand configuration. After the Games it was converted for football, the track was removed and the pitch lowered to add a tier, and Manchester City moved in from Maine Road for the 2003 to 2004 season. Successive expansions have added tiers and campus buildings around it, including a large indoor arena next door.

Transit summary

Metrolink runs to the Etihad Campus stop directly outside the ground on the line east toward Ashton, roughly ten minutes from Piccadilly Gardens. Velopark, one stop further on, is a useful alternative when the crowd backs up. Manchester Piccadilly main line station is about a twenty five to thirty minute walk, which many fans do by choice after a full house because it beats the tram queue.

The club runs a stadium and campus tour taking in the dressing rooms, the tunnel and the pitchside area, with a museum style exhibition attached. Tours are restricted around fixtures, concerts and campus events, and need booking in advance.

Planning a visit to Etihad Stadium

• Walk back into the city centre rather than queue for the tram. It takes about twenty five minutes and is usually quicker after a sell out.
• There is no pub district at the ground. Drink in the Northern Quarter or Ancoats before you travel out.
• Premier League kickoff times move for broadcast and are confirmed only weeks in advance.
• The arena next door runs its own event schedule. Check whether a concert clashes with your fixture before booking a hotel or a tram.
• Manchester weather is a real planning input from October onward. The stands are covered but the concourses are open to it.