Manchester City: agreement reached to increase capacity of the Etihad Stadium to 62,000 seats

Manchester City reached an agreement for the extension of the Etihad Stadium, home turf of the Premier League team, on 13/02/2014.

The stadium, which belongs to the City of Manchester, was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. With an initial capacity of 38,000 seats, the venue has already been modified to remove the athletics track. Manchester City left its historic Main Road stadium (41,000 seats) for the City of Manchester Stadium in 2003.

The stadium, with a current capacity of 47,800 seats, will be increased to 62,000 seats. The work mainly involves the expansion of the north and south corners with the addition of an extra level. The Etihad Stadium will become the second largest stadium in the Premier League, behind Old Trafford (76,000 seats), the stadium of Manchester United.

The extension of the venue should allow the club to expand its matchday revenue, which is particularly important if they wish to comply with the rules of Financial Fair Play. The Etihad Stadium was the 11^th largest revenue generating stadium in Europe in 2012-13, with a turnover of €46.2m, according to…