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144-532: UEFA [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The City of Manchester Stadium , currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City , with a domestic football capacity of 53,600, making it the 7th-largest football stadium in England and 11th-largest in the United Kingdom. Built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games ,

288-474: A brownfield site 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) east of the city centre on derelict land that was the site of Bradford Colliery , known colloquially as Eastlands. The council's shift in focus was driven by emerging government legislation on urban renewal , promising vital support funding for such projects; the government became involved in funding the purchase and clearance of the Eastlands site in 1992. For

432-525: A 'fully repairing' basis. All operating, maintenance and future capital costs are borne by the club, who consequently receive all revenues from stadium users. The 2008 takeover made the football club one of the wealthiest in the world, prompting suggestions that it could consider buying the stadium outright. Manchester City signed an agreement with Manchester City Council in March 2010 to allow a £1 billion redevelopment led by architect Rafael Viñoly . During

576-527: A 7,000-seat third tier on the South Stand was completed, in time for the start of the 2015–16 football season . A £300 million redevelopment programme of the existing North Stand entailing the construction of a new hotel with 400 rooms, covered fan park for 3,000 people and increased net capacity to approximately 61,000 commenced in July 2023 and is projected to be completed by the end of 2026. Plans to build

720-573: A Premier League season, and going on to remain unbeaten at the Etihad Stadium in all 19 of the Premier League games played there. The club's record of 55 home points out of a possible 57 at the stadium is a joint best Premier League record, and the club's record of twenty consecutive home wins at the stadium (going back to the end of the previous season) also set a new Premier League record in March 2012. The record football attendance at

864-524: A bronze globe was, at the time, the United Kingdom's largest sporting sculpture. It depicts the very moment the runner leaves the blocks once the starter's gun has fired. From 2005 to 2009 a Thomas Heatherwick sculpture, B of the Bang , was situated to the southeast of the stadium at the junction of Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way. Built after the Commonwealth Games to commemorate them, it

1008-526: A cable-stayed roof structure and supported entirely by twelve exterior masts and cables. The stadium design has received much praise and many accolades, including an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2004 for its innovative inclusive building design and a special award in 2003 from the Institution of Structural Engineers for its unique structural design. In August 2015,

1152-607: A carpet lay and play system. Wembley has been used for American football matches in the National Football League 's International Series . Tottenham Hotspur hosted Manchester City in a Premier League match on 29 October 2018, a day after Wembley hosted the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars . Due to the short turnaround, faded gridiron markings and the NFL logo were clearly visible on

1296-505: A counter-claim for unpaid fees of £250,000. The dispute between Multiplex and Mott MacDonald was settled out of court in June 2010, ahead of a January 2011 trial. The terms of the settlement not disclosed, but it was reported that Multiplex "would not be out of pocket". Multiplex also took the original steel contractor, Cleveland Bridge, to court claiming £38 million compensation for costs resulting from Cleveland Bridge withdrawing from

1440-429: A crowd of 87,192, a record for either the men's or women's European Championship. The stadium will also host matches during UEFA Euro 2028 . The Rugby league Challenge Cup Final had been played annually at the old Wembley Stadium since 1929. In 2007, the cup final returned to its traditional home after the rebuilding of Wembley. When Catalans Dragons played St. Helens in the 2007 Challenge Cup final , they became

1584-426: A football venue was criticised by athletics figures such as Jonathan Edwards and Sebastian Coe as, at the time, the United Kingdom still lacked plans for a large athletics venue due to the capability of installing an athletics track having been dropped from the designs for a rebuilt Wembley Stadium. Had either of the two larger stadium proposals developed by Arup been agreed for funding, then Manchester would have had

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1728-476: A full-scale match was David Bentley with a free kick in the same game. The first club game, competitive game, and cup final held at the new Wembley took place on 12 May 2007 when Kidderminster Harriers met Stevenage Borough in the FA Trophy final . Kidderminster striker James Constable was the first player to score a goal in a final at the new Wembley. Kidderminster became the first team to play at both

1872-664: A game between England and the team he managed, Croatia , in November 2007. The pitch was cut up during the game, which was blamed by some as the reason England did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 . The Football Association admitted in April 2009, after the FA Cup semi-finals , that improvements were needed to the Wembley pitch, after criticism of the surface by coaches Alex Ferguson , Arsène Wenger and David Moyes . In March 2010,

2016-477: A goal by Didier Drogba , making him the first player to score in the FA Cup Final at the new Wembley – the first male player to score in four separate FA Cup Finals. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech also became the first goalkeeper not to concede a goal in a competitive game at Wembley. Chelsea were the last winners of the cup final at the old Wembley and the first winners at the new. The first game involving

2160-582: A handover date of 31 March, in time for the cup final on 13 May. However, in December 2005, the builders admitted that there was a "material risk" that the stadium might not be ready in time for the final. In February 2006 these worries were confirmed, with the FA moving the game to Cardiff 's Millennium Stadium . On 20 March 2006, a steel rafter in the roof of the new development fell by 1 + 1 ⁄ 2  ft (46 cm), forcing 3,000 workers to evacuate

2304-437: A headbutt on Craig Stanley of Morecambe. The first Football League teams to play at Wembley in a competitive fixture were Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury Town in the 2007 Football League Two play-off final on 26 May 2007. Shrewsbury Town became the first league team to score at Wembley via a Stewart Drummond goal, they also the first league team to have a player sent off, in this case – Marc Tierney Bristol Rovers won

2448-524: A new stadium in Manchester were formulated before 1989 as part of the city's bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics . Manchester City Council submitted a bid that included a design for an 80,000-capacity stadium on a greenfield site west of Manchester city centre. The bid failed and Atlanta hosted the Games. Four years later the city council bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics , but this time focusing on

2592-409: A prison cell. The stadium also has conference facilities and is licensed for marriage ceremonies . Fitting out of the hospitality suites, kitchens, offices, and concourse concessions was accomplished by KSS Architects , and included the installation of the communications cabling and automatic access control system. The stadium's interior comprises a continuous oval bowl, with three tiers of seating at

2736-427: A reputation for being one of English football's most atmospheric grounds, whilst others were enthusiastic about the bigger stadium and move back to East Manchester where the club was formed. Since 2010, the club has boasted more than 36,000 season ticket holders each season, which is more than the 35,150 maximum capacity of Maine Road just before the club moved homes. In a 2007 Premier League survey of fans of each club,

2880-404: A specific objective. Though not based on facts, the stadium is nicknamed 'Emptyhad' by rival fans in reference to poor game-day attendance and atmosphere. In October 2014, the club received two national VisitFootball awards for the quality of its customer care of Premier League fans visiting the Etihad Stadium during the previous season. VisitFootball, a joint venture between the Premier League and

3024-528: A venue capable of being adapted to hosting large-scale athletics events through the use of movable seating . Sport England wished to avoid creating a white elephant , so they insisted that the City Council agree to undertake and fund extensive work to convert the venue from a track-and-field arena to a football stadium, thereby ensuring its long-term financial viability. Sport England hoped either Manchester City Council or Manchester City F.C. would provide

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3168-454: Is 115 yd (105 m) long by 75 yd (69 m) wide, slightly narrower than the old Wembley, as required by the UEFA stadium categories for a category four stadium, the top category. In a period after the completion of the new Wembley, the pitch came into disrepute. It was described as being "no good" and "not in the condition that Wembley used to be known for" by Slaven Bilić before

3312-424: Is a circular section lattice arch of 7 m (23 ft) internal diameter with a 315 m (1,033 ft) span, erected some 22° off true, and rising to 133 m (436 ft). It supports all the weight of the north roof and 60% of the weight of the retractable roof on the southern side. The arch is the world's longest unsupported roof structure. A platform system was designed in order to temporarily convert

3456-527: Is an association football stadium in Wembley , London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium , which had stood from 1923 until 2003. The stadium is England's national football stadium , and thus hosts the majority of the England national team home matches and the FA Cup Final – the final of England's primary domestic club football competition. It is widely regarded as one of

3600-777: Is currently the home ground of amateur rugby league side Manchester Rangers. The National Squash Centre and the National Cycling Centre , which includes both the Manchester Velodrome and the National Indoor BMX Arena , are all a short distance from the stadium. The Squash Centre, which has hosted the British National Squash Championships since 2003 was added to the SportCity complex for

3744-485: Is estimated to be over £10 million. In 2007, Multiplex also contested a claim from its concrete contractor, PC Harrington, that Multiplex owes £13.4 million to PC Harrington. In April 2018, Shahid Khan , the owner of Fulham F.C. and the Jacksonville Jaguars , put forward an offer to purchase Wembley Stadium from the FA. The deal included not only the purchase of the stadium, but also providing

3888-439: Is expected that a counterpart arrangement will be adopted for the proposed North Stand expansion. Cables are attached to the 12 masts circling the stadium with rafters and purlins for additional rigid support. The cigar-shaped masts double as visual features, with the highest at 70 metres (230 ft). Access to the upper tiers of seats is provided by eight circular ramps with conical roofs resembling turrets above which eight of

4032-565: Is held at Wembley since 2007, and the FA Women's Cup final since 2015. The new Wembley was a significant part of the plan for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London; the stadium was the site of several games in both the men's and women's football tournaments, with the finals being held there. The FA offices at Wembley Stadium, with social areas and boardroom, were designed by architects Gebler Tooth – who were also responsible for Team GB House at

4176-410: Is held together by a tensioned system, which has been described as "ground-breaking" by New Steel Construction magazine. The stadium's architectural focal point is the sweeping roof and support masts which are separate from the concrete bowl. A catenary cable is situated around the inner perimeter of the roof structure which is tied to the masts via forestay cables. Backstay cables and corner ties from

4320-399: Is movable. The primary reason for the sliding roof was to avoid shading the pitch, as grass demands direct sunlight to grow effectively. The sliding roof design minimises the shadow by having the roof pulled back on the east, west and south. Angus Campbell, the chief architect, also said that an aim was for the pitch to be in sunlight during matches played between 3 pm and 5 pm from

4464-673: Is present, its use will be directed by consultation between the UEFA delegate and the main assigned referee. Although the minimum stadium capacity for category four is 8,000, it is required to host the UEFA Europa Conference League final, and only one stadium with a capacity less than 60,000 has been selected to host a UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Euro finals and 30,000 for the UEFA Europa League and

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4608-412: The 2002 Commonwealth Games , once again proposing the same site along with downsized stadium plans derived from the 2000 Olympics bid, and this time were successful. In 1996, this same planned stadium competed with Wembley Stadium to gain funding to become the new national stadium , but the money was used to redevelop Wembley. After successful athletics events at the Commonwealth Games, conversion into

4752-473: The 2012 Olympic Games football tournament . The stadium also hosts the Rugby Football League 's Challenge Cup , Women's Challenge Cup , and 1895 Cup finals, in addition to various music concerts. The stadium also hosted NFL London Games until 2019 and was also the temporary home of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur between August 2017 and March 2019, while White Hart Lane

4896-583: The 2013 UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund , and in September 2019 it was named the host for the 2023 UEFA Champions League final . Due to adjustments of the 2020 final caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe , it staged the following season's final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid instead. During the 2012 Olympics , Great Britain defeated Brazil in

5040-431: The 2014–15 season , an expansion of the stadium was undertaken. The South Stand was extended with the addition of a third tier which, in conjunction with an additional three rows of pitch side seating, increased stadium capacity to approximately 55,000. Construction commenced on the South Stand in April 2014 and was completed by the start of the 2015–16 season. A final phase of expansion, which received planning approval at

5184-722: The England national football team is a major user of Wembley. In 2007, the League Cup final moved back to Wembley from Cardiff following the FA Cup final and FA Community Shield . Other showpiece football matches that were previously staged at Wembley, such as the Football League promotion play-offs and the Football League Trophy final, have returned to the stadium. In addition, the Conference National (now National League) play-off final

5328-500: The London Olympic Stadium has been used for major athletics events since 2012. The initial plan for the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium was for demolition to begin before Christmas 2000, and for the new stadium to be completed some time during 2003, but this work was delayed by a succession of financial and legal difficulties. In 2004, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Brent Council also announced wider plans for

5472-604: The Stadio delle Alpi and the Olympic Stadium with both Juventus and Bayern Munich moving to new stadiums less than 40 years after inheriting them. The stadium's foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Tony Blair in December 1999, and construction began in January 2000. The stadium was designed by Arup and constructed by Laing Construction at a cost of approximately £112 million, £77 million of which

5616-520: The Women's FA Cup finals and an increasing number of home games of the England women's national football team . A UEFA category four stadium, Wembley hosted the 2011 , 2013 and the 2024 Champions League Finals, eight games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the final and both of the semi-finals), and hosted the final of the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 . The stadium hosted the gold-medal matches at

5760-571: The regeneration of Wembley , taking in the arena and the surrounding areas as well as the stadium, to be implemented over two or three decades. Demolition officially began on 30 September 2002, with the Twin Towers being dismantled in December 2002. Delays to the construction project started as far back as 2003. In December 2003, the constructors of the arch, subcontractors Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company of Darlington , warned Multiplex about rising costs. Cleveland Bridge withdrew from

5904-492: The round of 16 match at the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, England won 2–0 against Germany at Wembley, for the national team's first knockout victory against their international rivals Germany at a major international football tournament, since the 1966 World Cup final at the original Wembley Stadium . On 7 July 2021, in the semi-final match at the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, England won 2–1 against Denmark at Wembley, for

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6048-461: The statue of Bobby Moore had been unveiled by his former England team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton outside the stadium entrance, as the "finishing touch" to the completion of the stadium. The twice life-size bronze statue, sculpted by Philip Jackson , depicts England's 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore , looking down Olympic Way . The pitch size, as lined for association football,

6192-805: The 2002 Commonwealth Games are the English Institute of Sport , west of the stadium, adjacent to the southwest corner of the Regional Arena; the Manchester Regional Tennis Centre, adjacent to the north end of the stadium; and the Manchester Tennis & Football Centre, also adjacent to the stadium, which is operated and administered by the Manchester Sport and Leisure Trust . Between 11 March (Commonwealth Day) and 10 August 2002, as part of

6336-461: The 2002 Commonwealth Games from a 38,000 capacity arena to a 48,000 seat football stadium at a cost to the city council of £22 million and to Manchester City of £20 million. Manchester City agreed to lease the stadium from Manchester City Council and moved there from Maine Road in the summer of 2003. The stadium was built by Laing Construction at a cost of £112 million and was designed and engineered by Arup , whose design incorporated

6480-625: The 2003 Institution of Structural Engineers Structural Special Award, and in 2002 a BCI Major Project high commendation was awarded by the British Construction Industry . In July 2014, the stadium was declared one of the United Kingdom's five most iconic structures by the Construction Industry Training Board . In 2003, initial reception by Manchester City supporters was polarised, with some lukewarm about moving from Maine Road which had

6624-552: The 2007 Challenge Cup Final. The first official try at the renovated Wembley was scored by James Roby of St Helens, although Luke Metcalfe of Castleford High School scored the first try in the schools game that took place before the 2007 Challenge Cup final. Castleford Academy (formerly Castleford High School) currently hold the record for the most Rugby League appearances at the New Wembley Stadium. On 24 August 2013 their Year 7 Rugby team played RGS High Wycombe in

6768-467: The 2010 closed season the football pitch and hospitality areas were renovated, with a £1 million investment being made in the playing surface so that it is better able to tolerate concerts and other events without damage. In October 2010, Manchester City renegotiated the stadium lease, obtaining the naming rights to the stadium in return for agreeing to now pay the City Council an annual fixed sum of £3 million where previously it had only paid half of

6912-664: The CFA with the Etihad Stadium was lowered into place. With sponsor Suisse Power & Gas SA having subsequently secured the naming rights, the completed SuisseGas Bridge was officially opened and turned over to Manchester City Council for general public access on 26 November 2014. Twelve days later, the Chancellor of the Exchequer , George Osborne , presided over the official opening of the CFA. As part of Manchester City's commitment to community outreach in their redevelopment plans for

7056-534: The Commonwealth Games along with CoMS. The Velodrome, another showpiece venue used to stage all the track cycling events for the Games, was already in place and had been home to British Cycling , the governing body for cycling in Britain, since it was built in 1994, as part of Manchester's unsuccessful 2000 Olympics bid. Prior to the completion of the Lee Valley VeloPark for the 2012 Summer Olympics,

7200-688: The FA Cup final, the stadium also hosts other major games in English football, including the season-opening FA Community Shield , the finals of lower tiered cup competition – the FA Trophy , the FA Vase , finals of the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy , the FA Cup semi-finals , and the promotion play-off finals of the tiers two, three, four , and five of the English football league system . The stadium also hosts

7344-631: The FA full rights to keep control of the Club Wembley business. On 18 July 2018, a parliamentary select committee was held to discuss the possible sale, with evidence being given by former player, Gary Neville , and Katrina Law of the Football Supporters' Federation . The offer was withdrawn on 17 October 2018. Given the ownership of the stadium by the Football Association (the governing body of English football),

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7488-460: The FA on 9 March 2007. The official Wembley Stadium website had announced that the stadium would be open for public viewing for local residents of Brent on 3 March 2007, however this was delayed by two weeks and instead happened on 17 March. While the stadium had hosted football matches since the handover in March, the stadium was officially opened on Saturday 19 May, with the staging of the 2007 FA Cup Final . Eight days before that on Friday 11 May,

7632-581: The February 1993 bid the city council submitted another 80,000-capacity stadium design produced by design consultants Arup , the firm that helped select the Eastlands site. On 23 September 1993, the games were awarded to Sydney, but the following year Manchester submitted the same scheme design to the Millennium Commission as a "Millennium Stadium", only to have this proposal rejected. Undeterred, Manchester City Council subsequently bid to host

7776-521: The London 2012 Olympics. Additionally, the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final returned to Wembley Stadium in 2007, and the stadium also hosted both semi-finals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup . Wembley was one of the 13 venues for the 2015 Rugby World Cup . The Race of Champions staged their 2007 and 2008 events at the stadium. Tottenham Hotspur agreed with the operators (Wembley National Stadium Ltd) to use

7920-619: The North Stand has never been officially renamed and is still frequently referenced that way, most external ticketing offices and stadium guides, in addition to the club itself, now preferentially label and refer to this section of the ground as the Family Stand when discussing seating and ticket sales. Supporters initially dubbed the South Stand the Scoreboard End (the former name of the North Stand at Maine Road), and it houses

8064-554: The North Stand then becoming the Home End, with no corporate hospitality areas, a greatly extended second tier, "affordable" ticket prices and possible areas capable of conversion to safe standing. The singing area would then be in the North Stand, and the Family Stand would be relocated elsewhere in the Stadium. The stadium is the centrepiece of SportCity , which includes several other nationally important sporting venues. Adjacent to

8208-462: The Scottish club, estimated to be in excess of 130,000, that travelled down from Glasgow to Manchester on the day of the game, despite the club's official ticket allocation being just 13,000 and police requests for fans without tickets to stay home. This order of magnitude mismatch between the numbers of travelling fans and those holding tickets ultimately led to a serious public disorder incident in

8352-659: The UEFA Nations League finals, since these regulations were introduced in 2006. After the 2007 Champions League final , UEFA President Michel Platini stated that he wanted European Cup finals to be held at stadiums with an average capacity of 70,000 to solve security issues. The hosts for the finals between 2008 and 2023 ( Luzhniki Stadium , Stadio Olimpico , Santiago Bernabéu , Wembley Stadium , Allianz Arena , Olympiastadion , San Siro , Millennium Stadium , Olimpiyskiy Stadium , Stade de France , Atatürk Stadium ) all had capacities of at least 70,000 seats—with

8496-550: The Velodrome had been the only indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. The collocated BMX Arena houses the United Kingdom's only permanent indoor BMX track and provides seating for up 2,000 spectators. It was added to the National Cycling Centre at SportCity in 2011. Other major sporting and sport-related venues located in SportCity in the immediate vicinity of the Etihad Stadium, all legacies of

8640-559: The annual schools curtain-raiser to the Challenge Cup final. This was Castleford Academy's 4th appearance at the stadium since 2007. This puts them joint with Leeds and one appearance ahead of Warrington . In 2015, a second statue was erected outside of Wembley, depicting Rugby League legends Martin Offiah , Alex Murphy , Eric Ashton , Gus Risman and Billy Boston . In 2011, International rugby league returned to Wembley for

8784-466: The areas of East Manchester adjacent to the Etihad Stadium, other urban regeneration plans incorporated into the overall Etihad Campus development project include the new £43 million Beswick Community Hub, that includes Connell Sixth Form College ; a community leisure centre (with swimming pool, dance studio, health and fitness gym, rugby pitch, and grass sports pitches); and a planned Manchester Institute of Health and Performance. On 26 November 2014,

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8928-403: The beginning of May to the end of June, when the FA and World Cups would be played. However, it was mentioned during live commentary of the mid-May 2007 FA Cup Final that the pitch was in partial shade at the start at 3 pm and also during the match. The stadium roof rises to 52 metres (171 ft) above the pitch and is supported by an arch rising 133 m (436 ft) above the level of

9072-563: The building services was carried out by Mott MacDonald. The construction of the stadium was managed by Australian company Multiplex and funded by Sport England , WNSL (Wembley National Stadium Limited), the Football Association , the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the London Development Agency . It is one of the most expensive stadia ever built at a cost of £798 million in 2007, and has

9216-424: The capacity of the converted stadium by 7,000 to approximately 48,000. Manchester City F.C. moved to the ground in time for the start of the 2003–04 season . The total cost of this conversion was in excess of £40 million, with the track, pitch and seating conversion being funded by the city council at a cost of £22 million; and the installation of bars, restaurants and corporate entertainment areas throughout

9360-469: The centre of the city now inextricably associated with this final, despite the fact that the 44,000 or so crowd who watched the game inside the stadium were perfectly well-behaved. The 2002 Commonwealth Games were deemed a success and the stadium gained critical acclaim for its atmosphere and architectural design. It has won a number of design awards, including the 2004 Royal Institute of British Architects Inclusive Design Award for inclusive building design,

9504-420: The completion of the stadium", which was then scheduled to be completed on 31 March 2006. On 30 March 2006, the developers announced that Wembley Stadium would not be ready until 2007. All competitions and concerts planned were to be moved to suitable locations. On 19 June 2006, it was announced that the turf had been laid. On 19 October 2006 it was announced that the venue was now set to open in early 2007 after

9648-426: The dispute between the Football Association and Multiplex had finally been settled. WNSL was expected to pay around £36m to Multiplex, on top of the amount of the original fixed-price contract. The total cost of the project (including local transport infrastructure redevelopment and the cost of financing) was estimated to be £1 billion. For the new stadium the level of the pitch was lowered. During excavation of

9792-496: The early years of Manchester City's tenure, the stadium suffered from a poor atmosphere, a common problem with newly-opened stadia when compared with traditional football grounds such as Maine Road. In the 2007 Premier League survey, the proportion of Manchester City fans assessing match atmosphere as 'very good' was the second lowest in the Premier League, better only than Middlesbrough's Riverside stadium. The more recent expansion of capacity has been designed with improved atmosphere as

9936-549: The ends, East Stand and West Stand for the sides). In February 2004, after a vote by fans, the West Stand was renamed the Colin Bell Stand in honour of the former player. The vote was almost cancelled (and the stand instead named after Joe Mercer ) due to suspicions it had been hijacked by rival fans who wished to dub the renamed stand The Bell End. However, core supporters of the club made it clear they still wished

10080-741: The exceptions of 2014 and 2019 finals ( Estádio da Luz and Metropolitano Stadium ) held with capacities of 65,000 seats. Two finals were played during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 in stadiums reaching 50,000 seats ( Estádio da Luz and Estádio do Dragão ) with none or reduced attendances. 350 E v (lux) vertical illuminance uniformity ratios U1h >0.35 and U2h >0.45 750 E v (lux) vertical illuminance uniformity ratios U1h >0.4 and U2h >0.45 1000 E v (lux) vertical illuminance uniformity ratios U1h >0.4 and U2h >0.5 Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (sometimes referred to as The New Wembley and branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons)

10224-411: The existing North Stand was approved. It entails the construction of a new hotel, covered fan park for 6,000 people and increased net capacity to 61,474 (allowing for seats blocked off for fan separation), with construction expected to commence in 2023 and be completed by the end of 2026. The second tier at the north end of the stadium will be extended with a further 7,900 seats; while a 'Skybar', linked to

10368-415: The external concourse. With a span of 315 m (1,033 ft), the arch is the longest single-span roof structure in the world. The Australian firm Multiplex, which was the main contractor on Wembley Stadium, made significant losses on the project. In an attempt to recoup some of those losses, the firm initiated a number of legal cases against its sub-contractors and consultants. The largest of these –

10512-436: The extra £50 million required to convert the stadium to a 65,000-seater athletics and footballing venue with movable seating. However, Manchester City Council did not have the money to facilitate movable seating and Manchester City F.C. were lukewarm about the idea. Stadium architects Arup believed history demonstrated that maintaining a rarely used athletics track often does not work with football – and cited examples such as

10656-416: The final. It's probably the worst pitch we've played on all year. It was not good enough for a Wembley pitch." The stadium was then relaid with a Desso GrassMaster semi-artificial pitch, ahead of the 2010 community shield game between Chelsea and Manchester United . Michael Owen , who previously criticised the pitch for causing him injury, said that it was much improved. In 2023 the stadium switched to

10800-451: The first non-English rugby league team to play in the final. The result saw St Helens retain the cup by a score of 30–8 before 84,241 fans. The first rugby league team to win a game at the new Wembley Stadium, were Normanton Freeston . The West Yorkshire secondary school beat Castleford High School in the Year 7 boys Carnegie Champion Schools final, which was played immediately prior to

10944-414: The first time since 1997 when Wales lost to New Zealand 0–36 and Australia beat host nation England 36–20 in the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations . The semi-finals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup were played at Wembley Stadium where defending champions New Zealand beat England 20–18, and eventual tournament champions Australia defeated Fiji 64–0. The double header drew 67,575 fans to Wembley,

11088-454: The first women's international to take place at the stadium. On 23 November 2014 the England women's team played at the stadium for the first time when they lost 3–0 to Germany in a friendly. The stadium, with pandemic restrictions, hosted the UEFA Euro 2020 , which included all three of England's Group D , two round of 16 matches, both semi-finals , and the final . On 29 June 2021, in

11232-487: The full England national team was a friendly played on 1 June 2007, against Brazil . The match saw captain John Terry become the first England international goal scorer at the new stadium when he scored in the 68th minute. Diego became the first full international player to score for a visiting team when he scored in stoppage time, with the full-time result being a 1–1 draw. The first competitive senior international

11376-440: The game 2–1, with Nicolas Anelka scoring the first ever goal in the stadium. The first competitive match followed four days later, a UEFA Cup match between Manchester City and Welsh Premier League side Total Network Solutions , which City won 5–0 with Trevor Sinclair scoring the first competitive goal in the stadium. Having started the Premier League season with an away match, Manchester City's first home league fixture in

11520-545: The game 3–1 in front of 61,589 which was a stadium record until the Championship play-off final two days later when Derby County beat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 to become the first team at the new stadium to win promotion to the FA Premier League. The first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley (between Manchester United and Chelsea ) was on 19 May 2007, with a crowd attendance of 89,826. Chelsea won 1–0 with

11664-509: The grass. The pitch has a UEFA standard dimension of 105 by 68 metres (115 by 74 yd). and is covered with natural grass reinforced by artificial fibres made by Desso . The field of play is lit by 218 2000-watt floodlights, consuming a total of 436,000 watts. The grass playing surface is recognised as being one of the best in English football, and has been nominated five times in the last nine seasons for best Premier League pitch, an accolade it won in 2010–11 among other awards. The stadium

11808-405: The hotel and with premium seating for 450, will surmount the whole. The renovations are hoped to be completed by UEFA Euro 2028 . It's the roller-coaster roof, visible from miles around, that is the big giveaway. It has a similar lightweight canopy that swoops up and down over the stands in one almost continuous wave. Held up by nothing more than thread-like cables, this is structural gymnastics of

11952-411: The installation of additional temporary trackside seating along the east and south stands. The first public event at the stadium was the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games on 25 July 2002. Among the dignitaries present was Queen Elizabeth II who made a speech, delivered to her in an electronic baton , and 'declared the Commonwealth Games open'. During the following ten days of competition,

12096-422: The internal ground level was lowered to make way for an additional tier of seating, on terracing already constructed then buried for the original configuration. The three temporary stands with a total capacity of 16,000 were dismantled, and replaced with a permanent structure of similar design to the existing one at the southern end. This work took nearly a year to complete and added 23,000 permanent seats, increasing

12240-550: The largest construction claim in UK legal history – was a claim for £253 million against the structural engineering consultants Mott MacDonald . In preliminary hearings the two architecture practices which worked for Multiplex on the project were ordered to allow Multiplex access to their records for them to build a case. The practices, Foster + Partners and Populous , estimated the costs of providing access and answering Multiplex's queries at £5 million. Mott MacDonald issued

12384-452: The largest roof-covered seating capacity in the world. Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners was appointed to assist Wembley National Stadium Limited in preparing the scheme for a new stadium and to obtain planning and listed building permission for the development. The all-seater stadium is a bowl design with a capacity of 90,000, protected from the elements by a sliding roof that does not completely enclose it. The stadium's signature feature

12528-649: The main competition. Category four is also required to host any game in the main competition of the UEFA Europa League , UEFA Europa Conference League , UEFA Nations League or the UEFA European Championship final tournament. UEFA does not publish lists of stadiums fulfilling the criteria for any of the categories defined in the UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. If a retractable roof

12672-450: The majority of City's more vocal fans. Supporters of visiting teams are also normally allocated seats in this stand, as it has ready access from the visitor supporter coach park. From 2003 to 2006, the South Stand was renamed the Key 103 Stand for sponsorship reasons, though this was largely ignored by regular patrons. The November 2018 consultation exercise on further expansion options envisages

12816-436: The masts are connected to the ground to support the structure. With the expansion of the South Stand in 2015 to accommodate a third tier of seating, the original south end roof was dismantled; but with the southern masts and corner ties remaining, so as to continue to tie the catenary cable which now runs below the new roof. The new higher South Stand roof is a separate structure, with its own set of braced masts and cables; and it

12960-523: The most exhilarating kind, vastly superior to the clunky steel trusses that conventionally support stadium roofs. Martin Spring, Building magazine (2002) The stadium's roof, with its masts and cable stays, gives the stadium a striking appearance. Apart from the innovative roof design, which made economical use of materials, the stadium is notable for its attention to such details as crowd comfort, ease of access (via those eight great spirals that flank

13104-475: The most iconic football stadiums in the world, and is considered a hub for the English game. Wembley Stadium is owned by the governing body of English football, the Football Association , whose headquarters are in the stadium, through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL). With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe , behind Barcelona's Camp Nou . Designed by Populous and Foster and Partners ,

13248-405: The national team's first European Championship final ever, with Italy winning the final on Sunday 11 July 2021 against England . The stadium was also used to host the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 , albeit reserved only for the final on 31 July 2022, where England also reached the final, won the game against Germany 2–1 to bring England first ever major European honour. The final was watched by

13392-475: The national tourism board's VisitEngland, has been assessing the care that patrons receive at football grounds since August 2010, and presents annual awards for those clubs who deliver outstanding customer service. Manchester City had been one of the first four clubs to receive an inaugural VisitFootball award in 2011, but in 2014 it was the recipient of both the Club of the Year and Warmest Welcome awards. According to

13536-462: The new playing field, mechanical diggers unearthed a buried obstruction: the concrete foundations of Watkin's Tower , a failed attempt to construct a rival to the Eiffel Tower in London. Only the base of the tower was ever built before being abandoned and demolished in 1907; the site was later used as the location for the first Wembley Stadium. The new stadium was completed and handed over to

13680-480: The new stadium took place on 17 May 2008, with Portsmouth winning the title 1–0 against Cardiff City ; Nwankwo Kanu scored the only goal. The final's 89,874 crowd attendance remains the largest football attendance in the new Wembley's history. Wembley Stadium hosted the UEFA Champions League final for the first time on 28 May 2011 when Barcelona played Manchester United . The stadium hosted

13824-420: The new stadium was on 23 August, a game drawn 1–1 with Portsmouth , with Pompey's Yakubu scoring the first league goal in the stadium, and David Sommeil being the first City player to score here in the league. 2011–12 saw the Etihad Stadium play host to the setting of a number of new club and Premier League footballing records, such as the club becoming the first ever team to win 11 of its opening 12 games in

13968-411: The north end were removed and the North Stand and lower tier of seats constructed on the prepared excavation. The North Stand roof was completed by adding rafters, purlins and cladding. The stadium has facilities for players and match officials in a basement area below the west stand, which also contains a kitchen providing meals for up to 6,000 people on match days, press rooms, ground staff storage, and

14112-429: The old Wembley, then Stevenage Borough in the new one). Ronnie Henry is the first ever player to lift a competitive club trophy at the new Wembley. The first penalty save and first red card came in the Conference National playoff final between Exeter City and Morecambe . The penalty was saved by Paul Jones of Exeter City from Morecambe striker Wayne Curtis . The red card was given to Matthew Gill of Exeter for

14256-453: The old and new stadium. Stevenage Borough were the first team to win a final at the new Wembley beating Kidderminster 3–2, despite trailing 2–0 at half time. The first players to play at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums were Steve Guppy (for Stevenage Borough) and Jeff Kenna (for Kidderminster Harriers). Ex- England international Guppy is also the first player to win a final at both stadia (with Wycombe Wanderers and Leicester City in

14400-415: The panel of experts from the football and customer service industries that assess the services and facilities provided at each of the twenty Premier League club stadia, "Manchester City are the gold standard in providing fans with the best matchday experience." In July 2011, the venue was renamed the Etihad Stadium, sponsored by Etihad Airways who fought off competition from Ferrostaal and Aabar to gain

14544-476: The pitch along with worn grass along the centre of the pitch and the touch-lines. Tottenham were forced to hold the match at Wembley due to construction delays to their new ground . Despite the pitch's condition, UEFA allowed a Champions League leg to be played at Wembley on 6 November 2018 with Tottenham hosting Dutch side PSV Eindhoven . The stadium roof has an area of 40,000 m (430,000 sq ft), of which 13,722 m (147,700 sq ft)

14688-434: The pitch, and there are 70 executive boxes above the second tier of seating in the north, west and east stands. The stadium is equipped with stand-by generators should there be an electrical mains failure. These are capable of keeping the stadium electrics running as well as the floodlights at 800 lux , the minimum level stipulated by FIFA to continue to broadcast live football. To create the optimum grass playing surface in

14832-529: The preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games and to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee, a national Spirit of Friendship Festival was organised. On 9 July, a few weeks before the Games began, a sculpture outside the new national headquarters of the English Institute of Sport at SportCity was unveiled by the middle-distance runner Steve Cram . This sculpture, commissioned in late 2001,

14976-576: The project and were replaced by Dutch firm Hollandia, with all the attendant problems of starting over. 2004 also saw errors, most notably a fatal accident involving carpenter Patrick O'Sullivan for which construction firm PC Harrington Contractors were fined £150,000 in relation to breaches of health and safety laws. In October 2005, Sports Minister Richard Caborn announced: "They say the Cup Final will be there, barring six feet of snow or something like that". By November 2005, WNSL were still hopeful of

15120-464: The project. Cleveland Bridge, in turn, claimed up to £15 million from Multiplex. The case was resolved in September 2008 with Cleveland Bridge ordered to pay £6.1 million in damages and 20% of Multiplex's costs, after the court found against Cleveland Bridge. The judge criticised both sides for allowing the case to reach court, pointing out that total costs were £22 million, including £1 million for photocopying. Multiplex's ultimate bill

15264-578: The proportion of Manchester City fans assessing their sight lines as 'very good' was the second highest in the Premier League, after the Emirates Stadium . Opposition fans have generally given positive feedback, with CoMS coming second to Old Trafford in a 2005 poll to find the United Kingdom's favourite football ground. In 2010, the City of Manchester Stadium was the third most visited stadium after Old Trafford and Anfield by overseas visitors. In

15408-588: The public artwork is located in front of the Connell Sixth Form College, close to the central circus of the Beswick Community Hub, and only a few hundred yards south from where the area's last public sculpture, B of the Bang , had been situated. UEFA stadium categories A stadium must be rated as category four in order to host games in the playoffs of the qualifying stage for the UEFA Champions League , or any game in

15552-575: The same day the SuisseGas Bridge was officially opened, a "globally admired" grouping of stainless steel sculptures, consisting of three towering metallic chess pieces called Dad's Halo Effect by its internationally acclaimed creator, Ryan Gander, was likewise unveiled to the public. Commissioned by the Manchester City Council to represent both the past industrial and current sporting heritage of this area of east Manchester,

15696-412: The same time as the others, would have added a matching third tier of seats to the North Stand. In November 2018, the club consulted with season ticket holders on possible alternative configurations for this expansion, including proposals for a still larger two-tier North Stand without executive boxes or corporate hospitality lounges, and possibly with areas convertible to safe standing . The full length of

15840-636: The second tiers in the East and West stands would then be reconfigured as premium seating associated with new hospitality bar areas. This final phase would bring the stadium's total seating capacity up to approximately 62,000, making the Etihad Stadium the nation's fourth largest capacity club ground, after Old Trafford , the London Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium . Eventually, a £300 million redevelopment programme of

15984-449: The sides, and two tiers at each end. Entry by patrons is gained by contactless smart card rather than traditional staffed turnstiles . The system can admit up to 1,200 people per minute through all entrances. A service tunnel under the stadium provides access for emergency vehicles and the visiting team's coach to enter the stadium directly. Once inside the stadium patrons have access to six themed restaurants , two of which have views of

16128-642: The sports of football , rugby league and American football . The first match at the stadium was a game played behind closed doors between Multiplex and Wembley Stadium staff. The first game in front of spectators was between the Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI and the Wembley Sponsors Allstars on 17 March 2007. The Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI won 2–0 (scorers Mark Bright and Simon Jordan ). The first official match involving professional players

16272-426: The stadium and raising further doubts over the completion date which was already behind schedule. On 23 March 2006, sewers beneath the stadium buckled due to ground movement. GMB Union leader Steve Kelly said that the problem had been caused by the pipes not being properly laid, and that the repair would take months. A spokesman for developers Multiplex said that they did not believe this would "have any impact on

16416-554: The stadium and which would include a 7,000-capacity mini-stadium plus 15 additional outdoor football pitches, six swimming pools and three gyms. The planned CFA facility was not only to become the new home base of the Manchester City first team squad , reserve (under-21 youth) team squad , and all of the Academy younger age group squads , but also the new home of the prior loosely affiliated Manchester City Ladies team (which

16560-413: The stadium being funded by the football club at a cost of £20 million. The Games had made a small operating surplus, and Sport England agreed that this could be reinvested in converting the athletics warm-up track adjacent to the main stadium into the 6,000 seat Manchester Regional Arena at a cost of £3.5 million. The stadium is owned by Manchester City Council and leased by the football club on

16704-432: The stadium bowl, the roof was designed to maximise sunlight by using a ten-metre band of translucent polycarbonate at its periphery. Additionally, each of the corners of the stadium without seating have perforated walls with moveable louvres that can be adjusted to provide ventilation of the grass and general airflow through the stadium. Drainage and under-pitch heating were installed to provide optimum growing conditions for

16848-419: The stadium for all of their European fixtures during the 2016–17 season , before using the stadium for the entire 2017–18 season . They also played most of their home games of the 2018–19 season at Wembley and continued until April 2019 when they moved to their new stadium . Wembley Stadium has a series of annual events that under normal circumstances are hosted at Wembley every year. These events cover

16992-474: The stadium has since staged the 2008 UEFA Cup final , England football internationals , rugby league matches, a boxing world title fight, the England rugby union team's final group match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and summer music concerts during the football off-season . The stadium, originally proposed as an athletics arena in Manchester's bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics , was converted after

17136-444: The stadium hosted the track and field events and all the rugby sevens matches. Sixteen new Commonwealth Games track and field records (six men's and ten women's) were set in the stadium. Prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, the 2002 Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be staged in the United Kingdom, eclipsing the earlier London 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and competing athletes (3,679), and it

17280-503: The stadium is crowned by the 134-metre-high (440 ft) Wembley Arch which serves aesthetically as a landmark across London as well as structurally, with the arch supporting over 75% of the entire roof load. The stadium was built by Australian firm Multiplex at a cost of £798 million (£1.51 billion today). Two partially retractable roof structures over the east and west ends of the stadium can be opened to allow sunlight and aid pitch growth. In addition to England home games and

17424-551: The stadium is the Manchester Regional 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, but has previously also hosted the home games of both the Manchester City women's team and the club's under-21 reserve team . The Regional Arena has regularly hosted the AAA Championships and Paralympic World Cup , and

17568-538: The stadium naming rights. The lucrative 10-year sponsorship deal included not just the naming rights to the stadium itself but to the whole Etihad Campus , a £200 million complex of football-related facilities into which it would be incorporated. In mid-September 2011, development plans were duly announced for a new state-of-the-art youth academy and training facility, now known as the City Football Academy (CFA) to be built on derelict land adjacent to

17712-416: The stadium not involving its host team Manchester City is 43,878, which was set at the 2008 UEFA Cup final game between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Rangers on 14 May 2008. As is customary for such games, the then 47,715 maximum physical capacity of the stadium had been reduced by UEFA to around 44,000 for this final. However, neither limit would have been able to accommodate the vast number of supporters of

17856-455: The stadium three statues designed by Andy Scott of players crucial to the team's first Premier League title in 2011–12 . First came a pair of defender Vincent Kompany and striker David Silva , and one year later one of striker Sergio Agüero recreating his celebration after scoring the " 93:20 " goal. The first public football match at the stadium was a friendly between Manchester City and Barcelona on 10 August 2003. Manchester City won

18000-432: The stadium to athletics use, but its use would decrease the stadium's capacity to approximately 60,000. No athletics events (track and field) have taken place at the stadium; the conversion for athletics use was a condition of part of the lottery funding the stadium received, but to convert it would take weeks of work and cost millions of pounds. Instead, with the awarding of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to London in 2005,

18144-576: The stadium to be "an intimate, even intimidating, gladiatorial arena embodying the atmosphere of a football club" with the pitch six metres below ground level, a feature of Roman gladiatorial arenas and amphitheatres . The attention to detail, often absent in stadium design, has been remarked upon, including the cigar-shaped roof supports with blue lighting beacons, sculpted rainwater gutters, poly-carbonate perimeter roof edging and openable louvres to aid pitch grass growth with similarities also made to high-tech architecture . The toroidal -shaped stadium roof

18288-572: The stadium's name, extends the team kit sponsorship for ten years, and relocated the club's youth academy and training facilities to the City Football Academy onto the Etihad Campus development across the road from the stadium. Despite being a continuous oval bowl, each side of the stadium is named in the manner of a traditional football ground. All sides were initially named by compass direction (North Stand and South Stand for

18432-404: The stadium), and provision for a diverse audience Sir John Armitt , Civil Engineer (2016) When planning the development, Manchester City Council required a sustainable landmark structure that would be an icon for the regeneration of the once heavily industrialised site surrounding Bradford Colliery, as well as providing spectators with good sightlines in an "atmospheric" arena. Arup designed

18576-535: The stand named after their hero. The East Stand is unofficially known by fans as the Kippax as a tribute to the very vocal east stand at the club's Maine Road ground. The North Stand is the only part of the stadium built after the Commonwealth Games, during the stadium's conversion. The temporary unroofed north stand it replaced had been dubbed the New Gene Kelly Stand by supporters, a reference to

18720-530: The surface was relaid for the tenth time since opening. In April 2010, the pitch was again criticised following the FA Cup semi-finals , during which the players found it difficult to keep their footing and the surface cut up despite the dry conditions. The then Tottenham Hotspur boss, Harry Redknapp , labelled it a "disgrace" after his side's semi-final defeat to Portsmouth . After the 2010 FA Cup Final , Chelsea captain John Terry said, "The pitch ruined

18864-493: The ticket sales revenue from match attendances exceeding 35,000. This new agreement occurred as part of a standard five-year review of the original lease and it amounts to an approximate £1 million annual increase in council revenues from the stadium. During 2011–14, the club sold all 36,000 of its allocated season tickets each season and experienced an average match attendance that is very close to its maximum seating capacity (see table in subsequent section). Consequently, during

19008-428: The twelve masts rise up providing the support structure for the roof. The roof of the south, east and west stands built for the athletics stadium configuration was supported by the cable net system. The temporary open stand at the north end was built around the masts and tie down cables that would ultimately support the roof of the North Stand. After the games the track and field were excavated. The temporary bleachers at

19152-409: The unroofed corner between the Kippax and the North Stand at the club's former Maine Road home, because, being exposed to the elements, they frequently found themselves " singing in the rain ". Commencing season 2010–11, seating in the North Stand has been restricted to only supporters accompanied by children, resulting in this end of the ground now being commonly referred to as the Family Stand. Although

19296-404: Was England U21s vs Italy U21s on 24 March 2007, which finished 3–3. Official attendance was 56,700 (although all of the 60,000 tickets that were made available were sold in advance). The first player to score in a FIFA -sanctioned match was Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini after 28 seconds of the same game; he also scored the first hat-trick at Wembley. The first English player to score in

19440-518: Was also officially referred to as Manchester City Stadium for the 2015 Rugby World Cup . The football club, under its new ownership, renegotiated its 250-year lease with the city council in October 2010, gaining the naming rights in return for a substantial increase in rent. The stadium was renamed the Etihad Stadium by the club in July 2011 as part of a ten-year agreement with the team kit sponsors Etihad Airways . The agreement encompasses sponsorship of

19584-432: Was being demolished and their new stadium was constructed. Wembley has also been chosen as one of the host stadia for UEFA Euro 2028 . In 2014, Wembley Stadium entered into a six-year sponsorship agreement with mobile provider EE Limited , under which it provides technology and infrastructure services for the venue. Under the agreement, the facility is officially referred to as "Wembley Stadium connected by EE". The deal

19728-477: Was created in a little over eight weeks by Altrincham-based artist, Colin Spofforth, who had submitted to Manchester City Council his idea for a heroic-sized sculpture of a sprinter as a means of celebrating the beauty, power and determination of the competing athletes. Reaching thirty feet high, weighing seven tonnes, and titled The Runner , this unique larger-than-life bronze statue of a male sprinter surmounting

19872-462: Was named the City of Manchester Stadium by Manchester City Council before construction began in December 1999, but has a number of commonly used alternatives. City of Manchester Stadium is abbreviated to CoMS when written and spoken. Eastlands refers to the site and the stadium before they were named SportCity and CoMS respectively, and remains in common usage for both the stadium and the whole complex, as does SportCity but with less frequency. The stadium

20016-553: Was played on 8 September 2007 between England and Israel . This game ended 3–0. The first player to score international goals at both the old and new stadia was Michael Owen when he scored for England against Israel. On 22 August Germany beat England 2–1 to become the first team to beat them in the new stadium. England's first competitive defeat at the new stadium was on 21 November 2007 when Croatia won 3–2. This match cost England qualification to UEFA Euro 2008 and head coach Steve McClaren his job. The second FA Cup final held at

20160-410: Was provided by Sport England , with the remainder funded by Manchester City Council. For the Commonwealth Games, the stadium featured a single lower tier of seating running around three sides of the athletics track, and second tiers to the two sides, with an open-air temporary stand at the northern end; initially providing a seating capacity for the Games of 38,000, subsequently extended to 41,000 through

20304-406: Was re-branded in 2012 as Manchester City Women's F.C. and more formally merged into the Manchester City family of affiliated football teams). Also fully integrated into the new CFA facility would be the parent club's world headquarters. At the beginning of March 2014, the structural framework for a new pedestrian walkway/footbridge over the junction of Alan Turing Way and Ashton New Road connecting

20448-413: Was renewed in 2019 for a further 5 years, as part of EE's parent company BT's sponsorship deal with the England football team. Wembley was designed by architects Foster + Partners and HOK Sport (now Populous) and with engineers Mott Stadium Consortium, who were a collection of three structural engineering consultants in the form of Mott MacDonald , Sinclair Knight Merz and Aurecon . The design of

20592-428: Was the tallest sculpture in the United Kingdom. However, numerous structural problems led to the 184 ft. sculpture being dismantled in 2009 for safety reasons. In 2014, money recovered by the Manchester City Council as a result of lengthy legal battles consequent to this debacle was used to fund a new £341,000 public sculpture a few hundred yards further south . Across 2021 and 2022, Manchester City unveiled outside

20736-423: Was the world's first multi-sport tournament to include a limited number of full medal events for elite athletes with a disability (EAD). In terms of number of participating nations, it is still the largest Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 72 nations competing in 281 events across seventeen (fourteen individual and three team) sports. Sections of the track were removed and relaid at other athletics venues, and

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