City's move to the Etihad

[Damocles]

peoffrey made an interesting point in another thread that he can't remember any Blues really being deadset against the move, and I'm sort of similar. I can't remember any real widespread opposition to it rather small pockets here and there.

What were your thoughts on the move when you heard about it? Did they change after seeing the stadium built and we'd moved in? How long has it taken for you to think of it as "home"?

 

[lancs blue]

Although I was sad to leave Maine Rd, having watched City there for nearly 40 years, I was also enthusiastic about the new stadium once it was clear there wouldn't be a running track around the pitch and that we could actually afford the costs for converting it from the Commonwealth Games set-up. Maine Rd had become more or less impossible to redevelop in any coherent way so a new stadium made perfect sense to me.

I got used to it being "home" fairly quickly, this will sound daft but I found that going along to the fire drill test prior to the opening helped in that regard - also I think the fact that we had European football for the first time in 25 years contributed to settling into the new place .

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

I don't think anyone wanted to leave but we could all see the advantages.
Clubs like Bolton, Southampton, Leicester, Stoke, Derby, Arsenal etc had also moved / process of moving to new grounds that had cost anywhere between 60 - 100m plus pounds.

City's move cost the club 20m in fitting out the stadium once it was converted from the Commonwealth Stadium - a deal that the club could not ignore and turn down.

Praise be to Bernstein and co.

 

[yerwot?]

For those who never stood on the Kippax

I have seen things you would not believe

Surges that swept you like a leaf in a storm

A million cigs glittering in the dark of the main stand

Running battles down dog-shit alleys, police horses herding fans like cattle

All these memories will be lost, like tears in the rain

In truth Maine Rd was never the same after the seats went in, so the move had the air of inevitability that softened the blow. Life goes on

 

[r.soleofsalford]

For those who never stood on the Kippax

I have seen things you would not believe

Surges that swept you like a leaf in a storm

A million cigs glittering in the dark of the main stand

Running battles down dog-shit alleys, police horses herding fans like cattle

All these memories will be lost, like tears in the rain

In truth Maine Rd was never the same after the seats went in, so the move had the air of inevitability that softened the blow. Life goes on

so thats where they got the idea for blade runner, moss side

 

[Skashion]

I think we all understood it was for the best for the club. We also understood there was a substantial pent up demand. I felt this pretty acutely. In our final Maine Road season I was 14/15 and starting to have the means and know-how to get to games under my own steam from Accrington, and yet I missed plenty of games I desperately wanted to be at simply because I couldn't get tickets. I could only get tickets for games like Fulham and Birmingham and always in the Gene Kelly (which was fine by me as I liked being next to the away fans but may have put others off). Getting to a derby for me back then was an utter impossibility, as was the final game against Southampton. The ground simply wasn't big enough for us. It was at constant 100% capacity. This is why as soon as we moved our attendances shot up to 46-47,000 from 35,000. Demand was there, supply was not.

I still hold Maine Road in great great affection, I feel more pull to Maine Road than the Etihad even though I've been to many more games at the Etihad and have more memories at the Etihad, the ground just had more character and felt like a part of the community nestled in amongst terraced streets and back alleys. It was the local shop run by a friendly old man to the out-of-town supermarket. Just has more charm and romanticism, for me anyway. BUT we needed to move. We thought it was for the best and we were right. I'm going to be self-congratulatory here and say that I congratulate our fans and our board, and Franny Lee, for their forward-thinking in bringing us to the Etihad. Forward with Franny, yes, as it happens. It undoubtedly helped our case with Sheikh Mansour.

 

[Gary James]

I agree with Skashion, especially the praise to Franny Lee (he did the negotiating early on) and also to Chris Bird (who did more than most to make it happen but had gone by the time it did happen so never got the praise).

In future years the Etihad will feel like Maine Road did for the generation that is enjoying City for the first time now, just like those old guys I interviewed in the 90s talked of Hyde Road. They loved the place and saw Maine Road as a concrete bowl! How views changed between the generations.

For me the Etihad is now about consolidating our current position and then moving onwards and upwards. At best Maine Road may have been extended into a 50k stadium (per Franny's 1994 plan) but now we know that the Etihad will increase to at least a 60k stadium in the next few years (personally I'd extend both ends at the same time to make it all happen asap - build it they will come!).

 

[urmston]

By the end I was glad about the move to COMS.

The Maine Rd stadium was a bit of a dog's breakfast by the end, and the area around was a bit seedy. The dog shit, human piss and chip trays in the alleyways was not pleasant.

It seemed strange to go to COMS to see City v TNS for the first match, but as soon as City came out of the tunnel onto the pitch I felt at home.

 

[TGR]

By the end I was glad about the move to COMS.

The Maine Rd stadium was a bit of a dog's breakfast by the end, and the area around was a bit seedy. The dog shit, human piss and chip trays in the alleyways was not pleasant.

It seemed strange to go to COMS to see City v TNS for the first match, but as soon as City came out of the tunnel onto the pitch I felt at home.

You echo my thoughts exactly.
I love the Etihad as a stadium and we already have a lot of 'history' there as in 1 x FA Cup, 1 x League Cup. 2 x Premiership Titles and numerous hammerings of the rags. We are truly in a golden era of MCFC - it's that we just don't realise it because it is 'now'. I am certain we will look back on the last 4 years with great affection in the years to come.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

For those who never stood on the Kippax

I have seen things you would not believe

Surges that swept you like a leaf in a storm

A million cigs glittering in the dark of the main stand

Running battles down dog-shit alleys, police horses herding fans like cattle

All these memories will be lost, like tears in the rain

In truth Maine Rd was never the same after the seats went in, so the move had the air of inevitability that softened the blow. Life goes on

I can't believe you forgot to mention the beer-farts.