Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[Gremlin]

The next real big boost to our support will be over the next 10-15 years when the kids who have started to support City around the country get older and start going to games.

I've certainly noticed more kids around wearing City tops than there were a couple of years ago.

 

[Kompany is King]

Good post.
Wonder what the view of”City Matters forum” is?

 

[Gordyola]

Yes we all get what you want. But it isn't going to happen. And I can tell you now the club will have a plan for a fully expanded stadium. The ground may not have initially been built to be easily expanded but that doesn't mean it can't be. And in fact the SS expansion showed it was considered because we didn't have to close the ground to do it. We are not expanding a bit at a time before we look at the next stand, there will be a pack of fully designed, fully expanded stadium drawings. It is about picking the right time to invest the money and expand further. The north stand being the next target. Another 10 years from now with a growing population amd further success, there wi be a new generation of City fans globally who will come to matches like they do to the swamp and anfield.

Im sure they do have a proposal to extend further with costings and various options The NS planning was submitted and approved at the same time as SS and may have expired but wouldnt take much to resubmit. I guess the delay is for numerous reasons such as the possibility of safe standing They also had a proposal for a new stadium but the feeling at the time, before the SS expansion, was that it would mean lots of criticism in the media, as the view, wrongly, is that City were given a stadium. The fact is we have probably paid back, the cost of the stadium construction. If you are implying that he expansion was considered during the initial design you couldn't be more wrong. The SS expansion is clever, in its design and execution, but a mish mash and poor quality as testified by many on here; it cost far too much in terms of ROI but it was necessarily.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Calm down, it's a 20 minute walk to Piccadilly Station.

There is no way that massive spending on infrastructure is going to happen for 25 to 30 matches a year.

Until such time as the Etihad Campus area is developed and usage will be guaranteed five to seven days a week, I don't see any major public transport changes. Of course, things could be considerably improved with better organisation of the trams:

1. Let the tram operators know when matches are expected to finish. Seems obvious but it doesn't appear that they have a clue as things stand.

2. Use only double sets on the Ashton line on matchdays.

Yes I definitely get that side of it with it not being a 7 day a week area.

I was just thinking about things United/Old Trafford has. It’s also only a 20 minute walk from Old Trafford to Town (although a lot of people can’t walk that far, and those that can don’t want to when it’s pissing down!) but they are soon to have a THIRD Metrolink station open (Altrincham line; Eccles Line; Trafford Centre line), they have better/larger public highways taking traffic to:from their stadium, they have water taxis, narrow boat rides, Chester Road seems to have more frequent buses going to and from Altrincham:Town...

That isn’t a 7 day a week visitor centre neither (although I know Trafford Park and Media City are).

 

[worsleyweb]

We need a monorail back to the City Centre - would be cool.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

The next real big boost to our support will be over the next 10-15 years when the kids who have started to support City around the country get older and start going to games.

I not sure the dynamic is the same now.

When i first started to go regularly circa 1994 and about 16/17yo with my mates it was very different, on the bus and walk to the ground. Get in for maybe £6 or £8, pay at the turnstyle etc. Nothing to stop you just waking up on a saturday and thinking are we playing at home - have i got any money - who's else is going.

I get the impression it is so much harder now. Are there many groups of mates under 20yo that go to games (without parents sorting it out for them?).

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

We need a monorail back to the City Centre - would be cool.

 

[Marvin]

Yes I definitely get that side of it with it not being a 7 day a week area.

I was just thinking about things United/Old Trafford has. It’s also only a 20 minute walk from Old Trafford to Town (although a lot of people can’t walk that far, and those that can don’t want to when it’s pissing down!) but they are soon to have a THIRD Metrolink station open (Altrincham line; Eccles Line; Trafford Centre line), they have better/larger public highways taking traffic to:from their stadium, they have water taxis, narrow boat rides, Chester Road seems to have more frequent buses going to and from Altrincham:Town...

That isn’t a 7 day a week visitor centre neither (although I know Trafford Park and Media City are).

The Etihad is 1.5 miles from Manchester Piccadilly, OT is twice as far. It might be a similar distance from Manchester, but in terms of the transport centres once you reach Manchester City centre, Utd fans still face a long trek so largely they don't bother.

I live off Deansgate, traffic on match day at Man Utd is far worse than when City play though that maybe because Deansgate is an extension of Chester Rd.

I don't think you can compare transport as City to town is walkable and huge numbers of City fans walk it, but at Utd it's not walkable.

 

[supercity88]

The Etihad is 1.5 miles from Manchester Piccadilly, OT is twice as far. It might be a similar distance from Manchester, but in terms of the transport centres once you reach Manchester City centre, Utd fans still face a long trek so largely they don't bother.

I live off Deansgate, traffic on match day at Man Utd is far worse than when City play though that maybe because Deansgate is an extension of Chester Rd.

I don't think you can compare transport as City to town is walkable and huge numbers of City fans walk it, but at Utd it's not walkable.

City, ruining walking to a football ground since....

In all seriousness in terms of sustainability it isn't bad. They should get everyone using public transport though where possible but it doesn't have to be mega investment to do so. If the area is to become a destination akin to Media City then public transport will have to improve dramatically. But it is part and parcel of going to football to have a shit time getting home. West Ham used to be abysmal. Tottenham still is.

 

[Bournemouth Blue]

In 20 years people under the age of thirty won’t be going to live sports events, they will be in arenas or more likely in their bedrooms watching gamers playing stuff on the latest version of Playstation/Nintendo Switch/ Xbox or whatever. Sad but true.