City of Manchester Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Manchester Stadium | |
|---|---|
| Eastlands | |
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| Location |  Manchester, England |
| Broke ground | 1999 |
| Opened | 25 July 2002 (Athletics) 10 August 2003 (Football) |
| Owner | Manchester City Council |
| Operator | Manchester City F.C. |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | £110 million |
| Architect | Arup Associates |
| Tenants | Manchester City (2003-present) 2002 Commonwealth Games 2008 UEFA Cup Final |
| Capacity | 47,726[1] |
| Field dimensions | 106.571 × 71 metres 349 × 232 feet |
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 ground, and became the home of Manchester City F.C. who moved there from Maine Road in 2003, signing a 250-year lease.[2]
The stadium is bowl-shaped, with two tiers all the way around the ground and a third tier along the two side stands. As of 23 June 2007, it is the fifth largest stadium in the FA Premier League and twelfth largest in the United Kingdom with a seating capacity of 47,726. On 14 May 2008 it hosted the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.
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[edit] History
Plans to build a stadium in east Manchester were first formulated in around 1990 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, Australia. 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 Stadium to gain funding to become the national stadium but the money was used to redevelop Wembley. The stadium's foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Tony Blair in December 1999,[3] and construction began in January 2000.[4] The stadium was designed by Arup and constructed by John 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.[5] For the Commonwealth Games the stadium featured 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 women's 5000 m.[6]
After the Commonwealth Games, extensive work was carried out on the stadium to convert it for use as a football stadium. Following the success of athletics events at the Commonwealth Games, the decision to convert the stadium into a football venue received criticism from athletics figures such as Jonathan Edwards and Sebastian Coe,[7] but redevelopment was deemed 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 47,321, which was set at a Premier League game when Manchester City drew with Liverpool F.C. 0–0 on 30 December 2007.
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 1 June 2004, and on 30 October of that year 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 UEFA Women's Championship, setting an attendance record for the competition.[8] It is rated as a 4 star stadium by UEFA, and hosted the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.[9]
| Season | Average |
|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 42,856 |
| 2004–05 | 45,192 |
| 2003–04 | 46,384 |
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.[10] The stadium has generally received positive feedback from fans, coming second behind Old Trafford in a 2005 poll to find the United Kingdom's favourite football ground.[11] However, the atmosphere inside the stadium has sometimes faced criticism, with detractors regarding the atmosphere as inferior to that of Maine Road. But the atmosphere has improved as the seasons have gone by with the fans getting used to the stadium.[12]
[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. Initially, 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.[13] The South Stand has been officially named the Key 103 Stand for sponsorship reasons since 2003,[14] 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, located along the West, North and East Stands. The boxes on the East and West stands seat 10 people inside and outside, while the boxes on the North Stand seat 8 people inside and outside.
The stadium roof is toroidal in 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 for ventilation of the pitch. Entry is gained by RFID smart card rather than the traditional manned turnstile. This system can admit up to 1,200 people per minute around all entrances.[15] A service tunnel running under the stadium provides access for emergency vehicles, and allows the visiting team's 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.[16]
The City of Manchester Stadium has the widest pitch in English football[17] and features a natural grass pitch reinforced with artificial grass fibres made by 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 warm-up track during the Commonwealth Games, and is now a 6,178 capacity venue that hosts national athletics trials and Manchester City reserve team games.[18] 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 (279 ft) 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.[19]
The City of Manchester Stadium has won a number of design awards, including the 2004 RIBA Inclusive Design Award for inclusivity in building design,[20] and the 2003 Institution of Structural Engineers Structural Special Award.[21]
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, plans for this have since been abandoned however.[22]
[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 30-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.[23] However, in July 2006 funding for the extension was reinstated,[24] and the stadium will have its own Metrolink station in 2012.
[edit] Concerts
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.[5] The first concert at the venue was a performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2004. Concerts and summer activities like boxing matches for instance often take a toll on the pitch. In 2008 the pitch is due to be relaid after the Bon Jovi concert. The resulting pitch revamp means Manchester City FC will have to find a venue other than their stadium to host their UEFA Cup qualifying match on either the 17 or 29 July 2008.[25]
18 June 2004 — Red Hot Chili Peppers and James Brown
14 and 15 June 2005 — U2
30 June, 2 and 3 July 2005 — Oasis
4 June 2006 — Bon Jovi
18 June 2006 — Take That
15 June 2007 — George Michael
28 June 2007 — Rod Stewart
2 June 2008 — Foo Fighters
22 June 2008 — Bon Jovi
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Stadium History. Manchester City FC official website. Retrieved on September 18, 2006.
- ^ Why Blues must cash in on name game. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
- ^ City of Manchester Stadium: The Wembley rescuers. Independent. Retrieved on January 7, 2008.
- ^ City of Manchester Stadium. Centre for Accessible Environments. Retrieved on July 22, 2006.
- ^ a b City of Manchester Stadium. Commonwealth Games Legacy. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.
- ^ Land of Hope and Glory. Sporting Life. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.
- ^ Athletics' stadium claim is pipe dream. BBC. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.
- ^ Record Breakers. The FA. Retrieved on August 29, 2006.
- ^ Man City stadium gets Uefa final. BBC. Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
- ^ Kev plans glory for Blue Camp. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved on October 19, 2006.
- ^ Old Trafford 'UK's favourite football ground'. Life Style Extra. Retrieved on September 19, 2006.
- ^ Blue Moan. Daily Mirror. Retrieved on September 18, 2006.
- ^ Stand Named After Colin Bell. Manchester City Football Club. Retrieved on July 22, 2006.
- ^ Official Sponsors. Manchester City Football Club. Retrieved on July 22, 2006.
- ^ Manchester City kicks off innovative smartcard services and sponsorships with wireless, RF-enabled Intelligent Stadium. Hewlett-Packard. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.(pdf)
- ^ Blue-heaven wedding. Manchester evening News. Retrieved on August 28, 2006.
- ^ Around Manchester. TheFA.com. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ Inglis, Simon (2004). Played in Manchester. London: English Heritage.
- ^ City stadium turbine plan backed. BBC News. Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
- ^ Building prize for 'icon Gherkin'. BBC. Retrieved on January 7, 2008.
- ^ City of Manchester Stadium and Millennium Bridge win top structural engineering awards. Retrieved on January 8, 2008.
- ^ "Manchester wins super-casino race", BBC News, 2007-01-30. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
- ^ End of the line for Big Bang tram plan. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved on July 23, 2006.
- ^ Metrolink - the little Bang?. BBC. Retrieved on August 27, 2006.
- ^ http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11679_3629185,00.html
[edit] References
- The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture - Comprehensive Edition. Phaidon Press. ISBN 0714843121.
- (2005) The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture - Travel Edition. Phaidon Press. ISBN 0714844500.
[edit] External links
- Worldstadiums entry
- Description and photos on footballgroundguide.co.uk
- Stadium information and pictures on stadiumguide.com
- Images tagged City of Manchester Stadium at Flickr
| Preceded by Hampden Park Glasgow |
UEFA Cup Final Venue 2008 |
Succeeded by Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadyumu İstanbul |
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| Anfield • Boleyn Ground • Britannia Stadium • City of Manchester Stadium • Craven Cottage Emirates Stadium • Ewood Park • Fratton Park • Goodison Park • The Hawthorns • JJB Stadium KC Stadium • Old Trafford • Reebok Stadium • Riverside Stadium • St James' Park Stadium of Light • Stamford Bridge • Villa Park • White Hart Lane |
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UEFA 4-star rated football stadia
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