Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[somapop]

The North stand gets more 'hits' on the TV and lessens the impact of the Etihad. Noticed on the BBC's Football focus that the reporter was stood with his back towards the North stand rather than the south stand...whether 'they' did that on purpose is another debate entirely (they'll probably film reports from the Regional Athletics stadium when the North stand is completed) :)

 

[Centurions]

Yeah, course it doors, and it's another measure that demonstrates how City are growing.
Really my point wasn't so much about City, but the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool etc. I don't think seeing us expand causes them too much fear. For Arsenal, they do exceptionally well already on matchdays, and for Liverpool there are far bigger issues holding them back!

Seeing the new south stand just makes the north stand look pitiful (which it is far from). I can't wait to see it mirror the north stand - and hopefully inherit some of the south stand atmosphere too. I think we can muster up 60K with the right pricing. 70K might be a bit of a stretch, but give it another 5 years of success and there's no reason why couldn't hit that mark (I know some will argue it's possible now, but I'm less convinced).

Build it and they will come, I believe we will fill any stadium. And as far as I'm concerned we already have the right pricing, is that not a large part of the reason that our matchday income is relatively low?

 

[CitizenTID]

Am I way off or is the inside similar to Schalke's?

On second look, the inside with the roof off is similar to Nou Camp

I was thinking its camp nou inspired but when you see each of the main stands its more like they've gone for some modern art, no symmetry concept

 

[FanchesterCity]

Build it and they will come, I believe we will fill any stadium. And as far as I'm concerned we already have the right pricing, is that not a large part of the reason that our matchday income is relatively low?

Not sure, it might be down to how we account for things. You could merchandise, food and drink sold at the stadium as part of matchday revenue, but you could alternatively count it as merchandise and hospitality etc, so I'm guessing some of our low matchday income (compared with a few other clubs) might be a case of that.
And of course, we have 'reasonable' prices (by PL standards) whilst a few other clubs are charging more, and we have a voluntary cup scheme whereas some others have mandatory ones (Arsenal and United, poss others).

I expect the likes of Arsenal are also doing exceptionally well (better than us) on corporate hospitality and booking that as matchday revenue.

As for build it and they will come, I think there are limits. The question is, what are those limits? We're managing 54K very well, so when we expand the North Stand, we'll get another indication of demand. My gut feeling is that 70K would need to be 'worked at' - but it's just a gut feeling, but I think if we carry on as we have been doing, it's definitely a reachable goal.

'The right pricing' is a touchy subject. The fact that we're filling the stadium suggests the pricing is currently fine, but it's hard to know if some of the very low season ticket prices are an altruistic gesture from the club, or a necessary pricing in order to sell. If it's the latter, then they'll need to at least match or better those prices to fill the north stand.

 

[worsleyweb]

We could get 60k now for at least ten games a season. Is giving 6000 away seats an option for the bigger games once we expand. The rags, Everton, Liverpool, arsenal and spurs all used to fill the old platt lane with that many.

That would really make the atmosphere something else.

 

[FanchesterCity]

We could get 60k now for at least ten games a season. Is giving 6000 away seats an option for the bigger games once we expand. The rags, Everton, Liverpool, arsenal and spurs all used to fill the old platt lane with that many.

That would really make the atmosphere something else.

I agree we'd have no trouble for a some of the bigger games, and to be honest, it seems a very British thing to worry about empty seats for 'lesser' games. Loads of events outside of English football operate very successfully without needing to be 95%+ capacity... e.g. Concerts, trade shows etc.
Sadly, with our media, and public perception, if you build a stadium that's 'over capacity' for too many events, it's portrayed as a failure, which I'm sure the owners are conscious of.

I'd only want to give away more allocation to away fans if we had to (but you're right, it would heighten the atmosphere). I'd still rather City fans got the tickets though!

Not sure on the 10 games a season...

United - definitely
Chelsea - definitely (if they continue to be rivals)
Arsenal - definitely (if they continue to be rivals)

After that, I'm not sure Everton / Spurs / Villa fixtures etc are all that compelling any more (for City fans)? But there's always going to be a cup games, CL nights and some 'crucial' fixtures against random opposition that will be highly attractive I guess.

 

[blueparrot]

I agree we'd have no trouble for a some of the bigger games, and to be honest, it seems a very British thing to worry about empty seats for 'lesser' games. Loads of events outside of English football operate very successfully without needing to be 95%+ capacity... e.g. Concerts, trade shows etc.
Sadly, with our media, and public perception, if you build a stadium that's 'over capacity' for too many events, it's portrayed as a failure, which I'm sure the owners are conscious of.

I'd only want to give away more allocation to away fans if we had to (but you're right, it would heighten the atmosphere). I'd still rather City fans got the tickets though!

Not sure on the 10 games a season...

United - definitely
Chelsea - definitely (if they continue to be rivals)
Arsenal - definitely (if they continue to be rivals)

After that, I'm not sure Everton / Spurs / Villa fixtures etc are all that compelling any more (for City fans)? But there's always going to be a cup games, CL nights and some 'crucial' fixtures against random opposition that will be highly attractive I guess.

Could add Liverpool to that and first and last games of the season usually sell out whoever the opposition except when the first game is a Monday night maybe.

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

The thing is..20/30 years ago you could fill 60k easy

With the cost of living/football ticket prices as they are..not so easy

If we want to be taking advantage of 60k crowds the stand alone tickets need to come down in price

 

[blue mash up]

What a like about the Etihad now is that it's a bit grimey in places and has the feel of a worn in stadium now and not absolutely brand new like others. We have proven we can expand and make it better and more impressive but still keep the history in it.

 

[fbloke]

As we watch Anfield get a new stand, Spurs inching towards breaking ground, Chelsea with a pipe dream etc what really becomes obvious is how all these clubs are limited in what they are building.

Admittedly there are a few shops and apartments included here and there but the plans for the wider campus and collar site will mean that the Etihad is only a part of a world leading development. And in truth its unlikely it will ever be matched.

City are going to become untouchable within a decade as far as infrastructure in Manchester alone is concerned.

 

[tonea2003]

good website with a positive view on us and you can keep an eye on other stadium constructions around the world

http://stadiumdb.com/news/2015/10/manchester_city_already_plan_further_expansion

 

[JGL07]

The thing is..20/30 years ago you could fill 60k easy

With the cost of living/football ticket prices as they are..not so easy

If we want to be taking advantage of 60k crowds the stand alone tickets need to come down in price

Err when precisely did City fill Maine Road with 60,000 every week?

I recall when the capacity was 63,000 there were rarely more than 40,000 even in the Championship winning season. The only match to come anywhere near capacity was the Rags. 25,000 wasn't unknown and 40,000 was common. More recently in the 1990s 20,000-25,000 was near to the mark admittedly in a much reduced capacity stadium but with the old Kippax.

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

Err when precisely did City fill Maine Road with 60,000 every week?

I recall when the capacity was 63,000 there were rarely more than 40,000 even in the Championship winning season. The only match to come anywhere near capacity was the Rags. 25,000 wasn't unknown and 40,000 was common. More recently in the 1990s 20,000-25,000 was near to the mark admittedly in a much reduced capacity stadium but with the old Kippax.

I think my point passed you by

Filling a 60k stadium in today's financial climate will be difficult

I genuinely hope we do..but then I also genuinely hope our benevolent owners will try to buck the trend on individual match prices

 

[whp.blue]

We could get 60k now for at least ten games a season. Is giving 6000 away seats an option for the bigger games once we expand. The rags, Everton, Liverpool, arsenal and spurs all used to fill the old platt lane with that many.

That would really make the atmosphere something else.

Yep
out sung by the away fans is always a buzz

 

[warpig]

As we watch Anfield get a new stand, Spurs inching towards breaking ground, Chelsea with a pipe dream etc what really becomes obvious is how all these clubs are limited in what they are building.

Admittedly there are a few shops and apartments included here and there but the plans for the wider campus and collar site will mean that the Etihad is only a part of a world leading development. And in truth its unlikely it will ever be matched.

City are going to become untouchable within a decade as far as infrastructure in Manchester alone is concerned.

Does anyone know when the club is looking to commence works on the collar site?

 

[Marvin]

I think my point passed you by

Filling a 60k stadium in today's financial climate will be difficult

I genuinely hope we do..but then I also genuinely hope our benevolent owners will try to buck the trend on individual match prices

Easy to grow when you're top of the league have Aguero, Silva, De Bruyne, Hart etc in the team.

This is the time to build the ground to take advantage

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

Easy to grow when you're top of the league have Aguero, Silva, De Bruyne, Hart etc in the team.

This is the time to build the ground to take advantage

Only if we can fill it though. There's too many empty seats at the moment. It's easy to get excited about expanding and I did too before I sat in the third tier, but up there you can see so many empties in the rest of the ground. It's not something I'm arsed about before anyone gives it the 'you're scared of your united mates' shit, but if we were to build another 6k seats and have an extra 5k or so empties on top of the already noticeable amount of empties in most games then it would put a slight dampner on the whole 'matchday experience' thing

 

[IanBishopsHaircut]

Only if we can fill it though. There's too many empty seats at the moment. It's easy to get excited about expanding and I did too before I sat in the third tier, but up there you can see so many empties in the rest of the ground. It's not something I'm arsed about before anyone gives it the 'you're scared of your united mates' shit, but if we were to build another 6k seats and have an extra 5k or so empties on top of the already noticeable amount of empties in most games then it would put a slight dampner on the whole 'matchday experience' thing

I think we could fill it..but would mean a few changes

Lower the match day tickets slightly

Lower the STs slightly and as @SWP's back suggested, maybe tag on the CL group stages

The thing is..City are still very much a working mans club..ok some of us have alright jobs and get by..but I don't think it's an unreasonable statement to say the majority of match attending City fans are far from high rollers

So unless you're on the season ticket gravy train..with the average match day premier league ticket costing 50 odd quid..not factoring in travel/food/booze I think a lot of casual support has dropped by the wayside and it's those 5/6 games a season folks who made up the numbers previously

It will take many years of success to get the numbers up on corporate support..to say a rag level

So basically you have a decline in casual core support coupled with a slow uptake on corporate/posh seats match attendees

The only way to resolve this is to lower the price..I'm not talking about slashing it heavily..but just enough so that the working man can justify it to his spouse from time to time

 

[FanchesterCity]

Only if we can fill it though. There's too many empty seats at the moment. It's easy to get excited about expanding and I did too before I sat in the third tier, but up there you can see so many empties in the rest of the ground. It's not something I'm arsed about before anyone gives it the 'you're scared of your united mates' shit, but if we were to build another 6k seats and have an extra 5k or so empties on top of the already noticeable amount of empties in most games then it would put a slight dampner on the whole 'matchday experience' thing

I'm not so sure about this. Yes there are some noticeable empty seats, and I don't know the reason for this, but it's demonstrably not a lack of demand - which is why, after the expansion, we are attracting more than ever.
If those empty seats were genuinely an indication of us reaching our limits (in terms of attendances), then we'd not have filled the expansion.

I definitely think we have some 'issue' with empty seats (above and beyond 'normal' no-shows that every club has), but for the reason I stated above, it can't be down to no demand.
Some have blamed poor ticket exchange schemes, and that may still be the case even with City's own scheme now in place.

 

[cleavers]

but the outside is god awful ugly to me. It looks like a multi story car park.

Me too, it looks like the biggest multi storey ever built, ugly. I'm not that impressed by the interior either, it just looks odd, and there's no doubt there will be exec "boxes" in there somewhere.