Etihad Campus, Stadium Development and Collar Site

[George Hannah]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

To JRB, FBloke, GXCity, and anyone else with any knowledge of the development of the "Collar site".

I'm interested to get your take, and an update of the facts on the Leisure Destination. Has there been any update on this from anyone associated with the club since the Etihad sponsorship deal of the Campus was announced?

My interpretation was that a feasibility study was done of building an "Internationally significant" leisure destination, and that it was found to be not feasible because of the location / weather etc. So instead it was decided the site would be used for our academy / training facilities and some local facilities (6th form college, swimmings pool etc) that would be sponsored (by Etihad). The beauty being that the cost of building these would not count towards FFP, but the revenue would count in our favour.

There has obviously been wild speculation on Bluemoon about Las Vegas style hotels, Disney theme parks, Ferrari World etc, but there seems to have been absolutely no mention of any leisure destination by anyone associated with the club for over 2 years. I may be wrong on that, and I'd be delighted to be proven wrong, but I was very much under the impression that the "internationally significant" leisure destination idea had been dropped by the club some time ago?

The way I see it is, and I`m far from being ITK,stage 1 was getting the metrolink up and running.Using the remainder of this season for people to try / get to know /sample it`s benefits.
Stage 2 increase car park charges,therefore reducing number of cars on east stand car park,by cojoling people on to metro.
Stage 3 complete campus area with car parking facilities and bridge to stadium.Where the" stuborn " remainder can park.
The benefits of the above are increased income by more fans using City square and new bar/food outlets on the campus for longer.Reduced gridlock around the stadium.And most importantly freeing up the east stand car park for development[whatever that maybe]

That fails to take into account the huge numbers of those who will be travelling to the collar site 24/7/364 and parking up.

I think we all need to remind ourselves that in the not too distant future City fans will be sharing the campus with, in the quite literal sense, tourists.

as an Eastender Parker that has cheered me up fbloke. Always said you were wasted on twitter!

 

[Matty]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

The way I see it is, and I`m far from being ITK,stage 1 was getting the metrolink up and running.Using the remainder of this season for people to try / get to know /sample it`s benefits.
Stage 2 increase car park charges,therefore reducing number of cars on east stand car park,by cojoling people on to metro.
Stage 3 complete campus area with car parking facilities and bridge to stadium.Where the" stuborn " remainder can park.
The benefits of the above are increased income by more fans using City square and new bar/food outlets on the campus for longer.Reduced gridlock around the stadium.And most importantly freeing up the east stand car park for development[whatever that maybe]

That fails to take into account the huge numbers of those who will be travelling to the collar site 24/7/364 and parking up.

I think we all need to remind ourselves that in the not too distant future City fans will be sharing the campus with, in the quite literal sense, tourists.

as an Eastender Parker that has cheered me up fbloke. Always said you were wasted on twitter!

If there isn't a fairly substantial multi storey carparking facility included as part of the collar site development I'd be very surprised indeed. There will be a great deal of parking provided, cars are still the transport choice of the majority, and a single metrolink line from Drolesden to the City Centre won't change that.

 

[Ding Dong]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

To JRB, FBloke, GXCity, and anyone else with any knowledge of the development of the "Collar site".

I'm interested to get your take, and an update of the facts on the Leisure Destination. Has there been any update on this from anyone associated with the club since the Etihad sponsorship deal of the Campus was announced?

My interpretation was that a feasibility study was done of building an "Internationally significant" leisure destination, and that it was found to be not feasible because of the location / weather etc. So instead it was decided the site would be used for our academy / training facilities and some local facilities (6th form college, swimmings pool etc) that would be sponsored (by Etihad). The beauty being that the cost of building these would not count towards FFP, but the revenue would count in our favour.

There has obviously been wild speculation on Bluemoon about Las Vegas style hotels, Disney theme parks, Ferrari World etc, but there seems to have been absolutely no mention of any leisure destination by anyone associated with the club for over 2 years. I may be wrong on that, and I'd be delighted to be proven wrong, but I was very much under the impression that the "internationally significant" leisure destination idea had been dropped by the club some time ago?

The way I see it is, and I`m far from being ITK,stage 1 was getting the metrolink up and running.Using the remainder of this season for people to try / get to know /sample it`s benefits.
Stage 2 increase car park charges,therefore reducing number of cars on east stand car park,by cojoling people on to metro.
Stage 3 complete campus area with car parking facilities and bridge to stadium.Where the" stuborn " remainder can park.
The benefits of the above are increased income by more fans using City square and new bar/food outlets on the campus for longer.Reduced gridlock around the stadium.And most importantly freeing up the east stand car park for development[whatever that maybe]

That fails to take into account the huge numbers of those who will be travelling to the collar site 24/7/364 and parking up.

I think we all need to remind ourselves that in the not too distant future City fans will be sharing the campus with, in the quite literal sense, tourists.

But that is my point.The huge numbers using this area,24/7/364,will no doubt also use the metro or existing car parks or new car parks built within the campus area.

And so freeing up a large area for re development that at the moment is only used once a fortnight to park cars on.

 

[Jnr Kisby]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

for info on how the bridge will look go to <a class="postlink" href="http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/MCCList1.aspx?100559/FO/2012/N2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov. ... FO/2012/N2</a>

If Carlsberg built bridges....

..... they would look like the original concept design and not like this boring attempt at a bridge!

 

[somapop]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

...meanwhile, across the city...

Old Trafford: Lancashire ground renamed in Emirates deal

Lancashire's Old Trafford home has been renamed as part of a 10-year partnership with airline firm Emirates.
It will now be known as "Emirates Old Trafford", while the brand will also appear on Lancashire's Twenty20 kit as part of the deal announced on Thursday...

More below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/21607455

 

[fbloke]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

The way I see it is, and I`m far from being ITK,stage 1 was getting the metrolink up and running.Using the remainder of this season for people to try / get to know /sample it`s benefits.
Stage 2 increase car park charges,therefore reducing number of cars on east stand car park,by cojoling people on to metro.
Stage 3 complete campus area with car parking facilities and bridge to stadium.Where the" stuborn " remainder can park.
The benefits of the above are increased income by more fans using City square and new bar/food outlets on the campus for longer.Reduced gridlock around the stadium.And most importantly freeing up the east stand car park for development[whatever that maybe]

That fails to take into account the huge numbers of those who will be travelling to the collar site 24/7/364 and parking up.

I think we all need to remind ourselves that in the not too distant future City fans will be sharing the campus with, in the quite literal sense, tourists.

But that is my point.The huge numbers using this area,24/7/364,will no doubt also use the metro or existing car parks or new car parks built within the campus area.

And so freeing up a large area for re development that at the moment is only used once a fortnight to park cars on.

A long time ago, on a Las Vegas thread far, far away I posted info on the planned use of underground car parks that had been shelved due to the quality of the ground things were being built on.

I do wonder if the continued purchases of land around the area has anything to do with finding the required space for vistor parking?

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

There's pretty much zero parking in the plans. Whole area very much pedestrianised.

City are building structures anywhere the space is available.

Re the casino land. The club have struggled to find a suitable partner in the current downturn.

They don't want just any old thing, so could be a little while longer.

Someone spoke to recently said to expect it more in line with Salford Quays than Vegas.

Call centres (Etihad, no doubt), National HQs, shops, canal side bars and hotels. Money they can get major rental incomes from.

Sounds much more practical, but with the wow factor in terms both of green space and the stadium and training facility the jewels.

Think the canal side developments in Birmingham if anybody knows them.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

There's pretty much zero parking in the plans. Whole area very much pedestrianised.

City are building structures anywhere the space is available.

Re the casino land. The club have struggled to find a suitable partner in the current downturn.

They don't want just any old thing, so could be a little while longer.

Someone spoke to recently said to expect it more in line with Salford Quays than Vegas.

Call centres (Etihad, no doubt), National HQs, shops, canal side bars and hotels. Money they can get major rental incomes from.

Sounds much more practical, but with the wow factor in terms both of green space and the stadium and training facility the jewels.

Think the canal side developments in Birmingham if anybody knows them.

It's an interesting thought, but I just don't see that kind of development being feasible. There is already so much vacant leisure space in the city centre and Salford Keys, that I think it would be commercial suicide to just throw up a load of canal side commercial and leisure space and hope tenants will pay to rent it.

It's absolutely a buyers market in Manchester for commercial and leisure space at the moment, and with no magnet to pull people to the Campus site, why on earth would any restaurant / bar / leisure facility want to open premises there? Other than on a match day it is like a ghost town round there, there's no footfall whatsoever. Imagine a string of bars and restaurants being open there now, who would go? Similar developments at Leftbank, Printworks, Salford Keys are absolutely dead at night time during the week, and they've all got a huge advantage in terms of location and facilities.

The only way such a development could succeed in that location is if there was some other major attraction drawing people to the area. For example if the Manchester Arena didn't already exist, a facility like that catering to 20k people a night, 150 nights a year, there would be a knock on trade for bars and restaurants locally. It would take something on that scale to drive enough people to the area to make it attractive for bars / restaurants.

I hate to put a dampener on people's expectations, but I just can't see a possible viable large scale tourist attraction working there. DisneyWorld Beswick is just not going to happen.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

There's pretty much zero parking in the plans. Whole area very much pedestrianised.

City are building structures anywhere the space is available.

Re the casino land. The club have struggled to find a suitable partner in the current downturn.

They don't want just any old thing, so could be a little while longer.

Someone spoke to recently said to expect it more in line with Salford Quays than Vegas.

Call centres (Etihad, no doubt), National HQs, shops, canal side bars and hotels. Money they can get major rental incomes from.

Sounds much more practical, but with the wow factor in terms both of green space and the stadium and training facility the jewels.

Think the canal side developments in Birmingham if anybody knows them.

It's an interesting thought, but I just don't see that kind of development being feasible. There is already so much vacant leisure space in the city centre and Salford Keys, that I think it would be commercial suicide to just throw up a load of canal side commercial and leisure space and hope tenants will pay to rent it.

It's absolutely a buyers market in Manchester for commercial and leisure space at the moment, and with no magnet to pull people to the Campus site, why on earth would any restaurant / bar / leisure facility want to open premises there? Other than on a match day it is like a ghost town round there, there's no footfall whatsoever. Imagine a string of bars and restaurants being open there now, who would go? Similar developments at Leftbank, Printworks, Salford Keys are absolutely dead at night time during the week, and they've all got a huge advantage in terms of location and facilities.

The only way such a development could succeed in that location is if there was some other major attraction drawing people to the area. For example if the Manchester Arena didn't already exist, a facility like that catering to 20k people a night, 150 nights a year, there would be a knock on trade for bars and restaurants locally. It would take something on that scale to drive enough people to the area to make it attractive for bars / restaurants.

I hate to put a dampener on people's expectations, but I just can't see a possible viable large scale tourist attraction working there. DisneyWorld Beswick is just not going to happen.

The footfall will be the employees working in the area. It's no theory!

Many of the businesses will have links or mutual alliances with Abu Dhabi. Don't do our mob a disservice.

If they wanted to build a white elephant it would be up already.

There is a balance to be struck between leisure and commercial.

It's on a visual scale akin to the Olympic site in London.

Edit: who said we aren't getting an Arena!

 

[Falastur]

Re: Etihad Campus & potential new stadium

The footfall will be the employees working in the area. It's no theory!

Many of the businesses will have links or mutual alliances with Abu Dhabi. Don't do our mob a disservice.

Why would restaurants, bars, shopping precincts etc have mutual alliances with Abu Dhabi? What would a restaurant have to gain from a commercial partnership with a country 3,000 miles away? The only types of business front that would gain from a mutual alliance with Abu Dhabi is a sporting stadium or a multinational office block - but I'm pretty sure that it's been strongly hinted that all the talks of building rugby stadia and F1 tracks were just hypothesis and conjecture, and I can't see City's idea of building a thriving commercial hub being to just stick a load of office blocks up and rent them to big companies...