Etihad Campus, Stadium and Collar Site Development Thread

[anyoldblu]

Or less of a risk than an indi

The irony of the less risk argument is that by choosing the safe corporate route, the developers have guaranteed the area can never become a genuine destination. No one is commuting out of town to visit an empty, manufactured concept on a non-event day. The campus will just be a concrete island for most of the year.

An out-of-centre food district needs soul and a distinct identity to make people bypass the city centre on a wet Tuesday night. That is exactly what hotel managed brands cannot manufacture. Would you rather hike out to the campus or simply wander around the NQ?

It also creates an impossible operational loop. You cannot retain top-tier staff if you only open on event days, but if you stay open midweek, you bleed cash on massive overheads. Opening only for events/gigs/matches means relying on unmotivated agency staff and defrosted bulk food, which kills the premium vibe instantly.

The only real independents will be the street food pop-ups in the Market Hall, treating it as a temporary side hustle. They turn up for the big event days, make a lump sum, and pack up when it goes quiet. The developers get to use them as an indie marketing shield, while the corporate machine quietly vacuums up the real profits next door. They thought they were taking less of a risk, but they have just built an incredibly expensive waiting room for the stadium.

 

[blueparrot]

Ill be honest I would rather go to the dentist than watch that shyte of a sport and not just because I aint one of the boys on the hood, bro.

I’d never watched it or been that interested until I saw a live game, the speed and movement are breathtaking and when I saw it live I could see why Pep was such a fan and what he took from it. Still don’t watch it on TV but I’d go again.

 

[WRicko]

The irony of the less risk argument is that by choosing the safe corporate route, the developers have guaranteed the area can never become a genuine destination. No one is commuting out of town to visit an empty, manufactured concept on a non-event day. The campus will just be a concrete island for most of the year.

An out-of-centre food district needs soul and a distinct identity to make people bypass the city centre on a wet Tuesday night. That is exactly what hotel managed brands cannot manufacture. Would you rather hike out to the campus or simply wander around the NQ?

It also creates an impossible operational loop. You cannot retain top-tier staff if you only open on event days, but if you stay open midweek, you bleed cash on massive overheads. Opening only for events/gigs/matches means relying on unmotivated agency staff and defrosted bulk food, which kills the premium vibe instantly.

The only real independents will be the street food pop-ups in the Market Hall, treating it as a temporary side hustle. They turn up for the big event days, make a lump sum, and pack up when it goes quiet. The developers get to use them as an indie marketing shield, while the corporate machine quietly vacuums up the real profits next door. They thought they were taking less of a risk, but they have just built an incredibly expensive waiting room for the stadium.

You seem to be assuming that people are would come for food if it was independent. More and more of the top places to to eat at chains just happen to be fancy limited chains. Or that people are coming for football and not the million other things at the campus when it will be an 365 day a year venue. if you coming for for example a concert you want to be guaranteed something ok not take a punt on something independent

 

[pride in battle]

The irony of the less risk argument is that by choosing the safe corporate route, the developers have guaranteed the area can never become a genuine destination. No one is commuting out of town to visit an empty, manufactured concept on a non-event day. The campus will just be a concrete island for most of the year.

An out-of-centre food district needs soul and a distinct identity to make people bypass the city centre on a wet Tuesday night. That is exactly what hotel managed brands cannot manufacture. Would you rather hike out to the campus or simply wander around the NQ?

It also creates an impossible operational loop. You cannot retain top-tier staff if you only open on event days, but if you stay open midweek, you bleed cash on massive overheads. Opening only for events/gigs/matches means relying on unmotivated agency staff and defrosted bulk food, which kills the premium vibe instantly.

The only real independents will be the street food pop-ups in the Market Hall, treating it as a temporary side hustle. They turn up for the big event days, make a lump sum, and pack up when it goes quiet. The developers get to use them as an indie marketing shield, while the corporate machine quietly vacuums up the real profits next door. They thought they were taking less of a risk, but they have just built an incredibly expensive waiting room for the stadium.

Fucking hell you will have me crying in a minute, you do know the biggest hotel in manchester is attached, you have mcfc, coop live and mama mia which is daily and caters for 600 people...

 

[anyoldblu]

Fucking hell you will have me crying in a minute, you do know the biggest hotel in manchester is attached, you have mcfc, coop live and mama mia which is daily and caters for 600 people...

You seem to be assuming that people are would come for food if it was independent. More and more of the top places to to eat at chains just happen to be fancy limited chains. Or that people are coming for football and not the million other things at the campus when it will be an 365 day a year venue. if you coming for for example a concert you want to be guaranteed something ok not take a punt on something independent

You are completely missing the point. If you want to pay premium prices for manufactured corporate food served by agency staff, go right ahead. You will get exactly what you deserve there, which is processed food for the masses while the corporate machine rakes in the cash.

The idea that a four-hundred-room hotel and a theatre show can sustain a sprawling entertainment precinct on non-event days is a total fantasy. A stadium crowd cannot be replaced by a few hotel guests. When the arena is dark, the place will be an absolute concrete island.

The developers have built an incredibly expensive waiting room, not a genuine destination. I will be spending my time in the Northern Quarter supporting real local businesses before heading up to the ground.

 

[pride in battle]

You are completely missing the point. If you want to pay premium prices for manufactured corporate food served by agency staff, go right ahead. You will get exactly what you deserve there, which is processed food for the masses while the corporate machine rakes in the cash.

The idea that a four-hundred-room hotel and a theatre show can sustain a sprawling entertainment precinct on non-event days is a total fantasy. A stadium crowd cannot be replaced by a few hotel guests. When the arena is dark, the place will be an absolute concrete island.

The developers have built an incredibly expensive waiting room, not a genuine destination. I will be spending my time in the Northern Quarter supporting real local businesses before heading up to the ground.

Thats your choice mate, my opinion lots of the northern Q is a dump...i like to go a bit more upmarket.

 

[anyoldblu]

Thats your choice mate, my opinion lots of the northern Q is a dump...i like to go a bit more upmarket.

Calling the Northern Quarter a dump just shows you have no idea what is actually over there. If you think the NQ is just dive bars and graffiti, you are completely out of touch with where the top end of Manchester's food and drink scene is actually hiding.

If you want actual upmarket quality without the corporate safety net, you go to places like 63 Degrees on Edge Street for high-end classic French dining, or The Jane Eyre on Hood Street for some of the best cocktails and small plates in the city. Even Flawd, just down the road in Ancoats, blows anything a plastic, manufactured, hotel brasserie can do out of the water.

You are confusing slick corporate branding with actual luxury. Places like Another Hand on Deansgate Mews or the Michelin-starred mana in Ancoats prove that the best independent talent in the city operates at a level a manufactured chain concept like Little Beast could only dream of.

If you prefer spending your money on a sanitised, hotel-managed corporate illusion surrounded by empty car parks, that is your choice. I'll stick to places with actual substance, soul, and world-class quality before heading to the match.

 

[pride in battle]

Calling the Northern Quarter a dump just shows you have no idea what is actually over there. If you think the NQ is just dive bars and graffiti, you are completely out of touch with where the top end of Manchester's food and drink scene is actually hiding.

If you want actual upmarket quality without the corporate safety net, you go to places like 63 Degrees on Edge Street for high-end classic French dining, or The Jane Eyre on Hood Street for some of the best cocktails and small plates in the city. Even Flawd, just down the road in Ancoats, blows anything a plastic, manufactured, hotel brasserie can do out of the water.

You are confusing slick corporate branding with actual luxury. Places like Another Hand on Deansgate Mews or the Michelin-starred mana in Ancoats prove that the best independent talent in the city operates at a level a manufactured chain concept like Little Beast could only dream of.

If you prefer spending your money on a sanitised, hotel-managed corporate illusion surrounded by empty car parks, that is your choice. I'll stick to places with actual substance, soul, and world-class quality before heading to the match.

You don't have to try and educate me about the manchester food scene, ive lived City centre for 25 years, and parts of NQ are rough.

 

[WRicko]

You are completely missing the point. If you want to pay premium prices for manufactured corporate food served by agency staff, go right ahead. You will get exactly what you deserve there, which is processed food for the masses while the corporate machine rakes in the cash.

The idea that a four-hundred-room hotel and a theatre show can sustain a sprawling entertainment precinct on non-event days is a total fantasy. A stadium crowd cannot be replaced by a few hotel guests. When the arena is dark, the place will be an absolute concrete island.

The developers have built an incredibly expensive waiting room, not a genuine destination. I will be spending my time in the Northern Quarter supporting real local businesses before heading up to the ground.

You virtually ignore the Co op. Could be argued that you ignore the area around tho it residents shoppers etc you play down how many people can be at a 400 room hotel and you ignore any future developments

You assume corporate chains are rubbish you can have good and bad I am sure there going to be be offerings at a level or 5 above kfc

 

[anyoldblu]

You virtually ignore the Co op. Could be argued that you ignore the area around tho it residents shoppers etc you play down how many people can be at a 400 room hotel and you ignore any future developments

You assume corporate chains are rubbish you can have good and bad I am sure there going to be be offerings at a level or 5 above kfc

Nobody is saying these places will be serving KFC-level food, but you are completely missing the structural flaw. A 400-room hotel and a busy concert arena don't change the fact that this is a manufactured, out-of-centre site. It is being built as a captive environment, not a neighbourhood.

Think about Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. It has plenty of "premium" dining, but it is entirely functional and synthetic. It exists only to serve people who have no other choice because they are already stuck in the departures hall. That is exactly what this development is—a glossy, high-end waiting room for the arena.

The reality is that no top-tier chef is going to pour their heart and soul into a setup like this. They want creative freedom and a community they can build a relationship with, not a corporate rotation where the menu is dictated by regional head office and the customer base is just a transient swarm of concert or match-goers.

Look at the Printworks. That is in the absolute heart of the city, surrounded by hotels, office blocks, shops, and massive footfall, and it has struggled for years to maintain relevance because it is a manufactured cluster of chains rather than a genuine destination. If a site in the middle of town with constant organic traffic struggles, what chance does a concrete island in East Manchester have once the stadium lights go out?

You can point to future developments or the hotel capacity all you want, but you are describing a corporate ecosystem that relies on a constant, artificial supply of people. Once that supply hits a lull, the lack of a real, local community will expose these venues for exactly what they are: sterile, managed environments with zero local roots.

 

[jrb]

Holt Town next to the Etihad will be the new neighborhood. Let's wait and see what the proposal for the Collar site is. Love it or hate it, the Etihad Campus offers a leisure destination of football, sports. music, events, etc. The Etihad Campus does have a role to play in offering another leisure destination in Manchester, just like Trafford City is doing in Trafford Park, and the proposed new United stadium and Trafford Wharf district will have in Trafford Park. The city centre leisure offering is the filler in-between emerging leisure destinations across Gtr Manchester.

 

[pride in battle]

Nobody is saying these places will be serving KFC-level food, but you are completely missing the structural flaw. A 400-room hotel and a busy concert arena don't change the fact that this is a manufactured, out-of-centre site. It is being built as a captive environment, not a neighbourhood.

Think about Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. It has plenty of "premium" dining, but it is entirely functional and synthetic. It exists only to serve people who have no other choice because they are already stuck in the departures hall. That is exactly what this development is—a glossy, high-end waiting room for the arena.

The reality is that no top-tier chef is going to pour their heart and soul into a setup like this. They want creative freedom and a community they can build a relationship with, not a corporate rotation where the menu is dictated by regional head office and the customer base is just a transient swarm of concert or match-goers.

Look at the Printworks. That is in the absolute heart of the city, surrounded by hotels, office blocks, shops, and massive footfall, and it has struggled for years to maintain relevance because it is a manufactured cluster of chains rather than a genuine destination. If a site in the middle of town with constant organic traffic struggles, what chance does a concrete island in East Manchester have once the stadium lights go out?

You can point to future developments or the hotel capacity all you want, but you are describing a corporate ecosystem that relies on a constant, artificial supply of people. Once that supply hits a lull, the lack of a real, local community will expose these venues for exactly what they are: sterile, managed environments with zero local roots.

Most restaurants in Manchester are either shut half the time or dead half the time, that's the reality, i don't get the negativity from you ? Weird...

 

[Norman kneejerk]

Holt Town next to the Etihad will be the new neighborhood. Let's wait and see what the proposal for the Collar site is. Love it or hate it, the Etihad Campus offers a leisure destination of football, sports. music, events, etc. The Etihad Campus does have a role to play in offering another leisure destination in Manchester, just like Trafford City is doing in Trafford Park, and the proposed new United stadium and Trafford Wharf district will have in Trafford Park. The city centre leisure offering is the filler in-between emerging leisure destination across Gtr Manchester.

Hopefully these big new housing developments will help us get better transport links (thinking especially rail) because it takes away the argument it will only be used on match days.

 

[shnaghaicityfish]

Nobody is saying these places will be serving KFC-level food, but you are completely missing the structural flaw. A 400-room hotel and a busy concert arena don't change the fact that this is a manufactured, out-of-centre site. It is being built as a captive environment, not a neighbourhood.

Think about Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. It has plenty of "premium" dining, but it is entirely functional and synthetic. It exists only to serve people who have no other choice because they are already stuck in the departures hall. That is exactly what this development is—a glossy, high-end waiting room for the arena.

The reality is that no top-tier chef is going to pour their heart and soul into a setup like this. They want creative freedom and a community they can build a relationship with, not a corporate rotation where the menu is dictated by regional head office and the customer base is just a transient swarm of concert or match-goers.

Look at the Printworks. That is in the absolute heart of the city, surrounded by hotels, office blocks, shops, and massive footfall, and it has struggled for years to maintain relevance because it is a manufactured cluster of chains rather than a genuine destination. If a site in the middle of town with constant organic traffic struggles, what chance does a concrete island in East Manchester have once the stadium lights go out?

You can point to future developments or the hotel capacity all you want, but you are describing a corporate ecosystem that relies on a constant, artificial supply of people. Once that supply hits a lull, the lack of a real, local community will expose these venues for exactly what they are: sterile, managed environments with zero local roots.

I am not going to take sides in the culinary or socio-economic arguments but the fact that Medlock Square is right next to my turnstile makes it attractive if I want to eat either before or after a game, so for me it’s a good new option.

 

[jrb]

You could spend all day and all night at the Etihad stadium next season for a day and a night out without leaving it. Hotel, the fan zone, match, hotel, restaurant, music, dancing. It's a destination in it's own right, if you want it to be.

 

[Gingers Dad]

Nobody is saying these places will be serving KFC-level food, but you are completely missing the structural flaw. A 400-room hotel and a busy concert arena don't change the fact that this is a manufactured, out-of-centre site. It is being built as a captive environment, not a neighbourhood.

Think about Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. It has plenty of "premium" dining, but it is entirely functional and synthetic. It exists only to serve people who have no other choice because they are already stuck in the departures hall. That is exactly what this development is—a glossy, high-end waiting room for the arena.

The reality is that no top-tier chef is going to pour their heart and soul into a setup like this. They want creative freedom and a community they can build a relationship with, not a corporate rotation where the menu is dictated by regional head office and the customer base is just a transient swarm of concert or match-goers.

Look at the Printworks. That is in the absolute heart of the city, surrounded by hotels, office blocks, shops, and massive footfall, and it has struggled for years to maintain relevance because it is a manufactured cluster of chains rather than a genuine destination. If a site in the middle of town with constant organic traffic struggles, what chance does a concrete island in East Manchester have once the stadium lights go out?

You can point to future developments or the hotel capacity all you want, but you are describing a corporate ecosystem that relies on a constant, artificial supply of people. Once that supply hits a lull, the lack of a real, local community will expose these venues for exactly what they are: sterile, managed environments with zero local roots.

Ive just moved to an office about a mile away from the Etihad. When I walk down to Asda at lunch time the area is already buzzing with people. I think the whole thing is going to be a massive success.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Holt Town next to the Etihad will be the new neighborhood. Let's wait and see what the proposal for the Collar site is. Love it or hate it, the Etihad Campus offers a leisure destination of football, sports. music, events, etc. The Etihad Campus does have a role to play in offering another leisure destination in Manchester, just like Trafford City is doing in Trafford Park, and the proposed new United stadium and Trafford Wharf district will have in Trafford Park. The city centre leisure offering is the filler in-between emerging leisure destinations across Gtr Manchester.

The expansion of Ancoats and now Holt Town essentially links up the Etihad with the city-centre which is still growing rapidly. Lots of new homes means more local bars and food outlets right by the stadium.

 

[WRicko]

Nobody is saying these places will be serving KFC-level food, but you are completely missing the structural flaw. A 400-room hotel and a busy concert arena don't change the fact that this is a manufactured, out-of-centre site. It is being built as a captive environment, not a neighbourhood.

Think about Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2. It has plenty of "premium" dining, but it is entirely functional and synthetic. It exists only to serve people who have no other choice because they are already stuck in the departures hall. That is exactly what this development is—a glossy, high-end waiting room for the arena.

The reality is that no top-tier chef is going to pour their heart and soul into a setup like this. They want creative freedom and a community they can build a relationship with, not a corporate rotation where the menu is dictated by regional head office and the customer base is just a transient swarm of concert or match-goers.

Look at the Printworks. That is in the absolute heart of the city, surrounded by hotels, office blocks, shops, and massive footfall, and it has struggled for years to maintain relevance because it is a manufactured cluster of chains rather than a genuine destination. If a site in the middle of town with constant organic traffic struggles, what chance does a concrete island in East Manchester have once the stadium lights go out?

You can point to future developments or the hotel capacity all you want, but you are describing a corporate ecosystem that relies on a constant, artificial supply of people. Once that supply hits a lull, the lack of a real, local community will expose these venues for exactly what they are: sterile, managed environments with zero local roots.

You have tons of top end restaurants run by top chefs inside venues e.g hotels casinos etc. In manufactured environments my point was not about it being manufactured it’s about it being busy.

You play down the number of concerts on no mention of it being the biggest venue in the UK. You probably play down Mama Mia. No mention of future development in your first posts. No mention of locals being able to use the facilities. No mention of other events and facilities e.g velodrome visitors being able to use them. You make it sound the hotel will be empty a lot. No mention of any of the things at the stadium outside the football e.g museum, sky walk, shop, office staff. These are all pontential customers. I am sure someone more qualified than you has run the numbers

 

[pride in battle]

You have tons of top end restaurants run by top chefs inside venues e.g hotels casinos etc. In manufactured environments my point was not about it being manufactured it’s about it being busy.

You play down the number of concerts on no mention of it being the biggest venue in the UK. You probably play down Mama Mia. No mention of future development in your first posts. No mention of locals being able to use the facilities. No mention of other events and facilities e.g velodrome visitors being able to use them. You make it sound the hotel will be empty a lot. No mention of any of the things at the stadium outside the football e.g museum, sky walk, shop, office staff. These are all pontential customers. I am sure someone more qualified than you has run the numbers

He seems to be ranting for no reason, its a fantastic addition for Manchester so let's just embrace it.

 

[Asa's left peg]

I may not have agreed with everything they have done but they haven't made too many mistakes so far. They are not, or weren't experts on football before but they have been, either on their own or in partnerships, experts on these sorts of developments all over the world. I am surprised that all this has come before the creeping housing developments from the centre has yet to meet the campus but they must know what the impact is going to be when you add the extra amenities/venues.

On a more personal note, if there are places to eat in the venues that suit my tastes and are not massively expensive, I would stay in the hotel on a non event day after a meal, but I think those hotel rate maybe still more than the meal.

Horses for courses.