City confirm development plans

Blues aim to transform Sportcity into world-class complex

By Ben Collins   Last updated: 12th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

City confirm development plans

Eastlands: Could be set for expansion

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Manchester City have signed a £1billion agreement with Manchester City Council to develop land around their Eastlands stadium.

The scheme will transform the areas of Beswick and Openshaw, some of the poorest areas of Manchester, which surrond the Sportcity site.

Besides the football stadium, the site already boasts the English Institute of Sport, National Cycling Centre, National Squash Centre, Regional Tennis Centre and the Regional Athletics Arena.

But the plan is to turn Sportcity into a "world-class sports and leisure complex" which would also feature a new training ground for the Blues, creating thousands of jobs.

Luxurious

Almost since the moment Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of City in 2008 there have been suggestions he wanted to develop spare land around the stadium, with AC Milan's luxurious Milanello complex the template for a new training facility which will include training pitches and state-of-the-art medical facilities.

City currently occupy a purpose-built training complex on the outskirts of Manchester at Carrington, but the plan to move near the stadium to a 60-acre site on the opposite side of Ashton New Road is now set to reach fruition.

In addition, the club will look into the financial viability of extending the council-owned stadium, on which the club has a 250-year lease, from its current 48,000 capacity.

Fan zone

The first phase of the development will involve a 'market place-style fan zone' on Joe Mercer Way, the main approach to the stadium.

With a Metrolink stop set to be built at Sportcity as part of the current expansion of the local transport network, ample opportunity for further development is envisaged within a three-way partnership between the club, the council and New East Manchester.

"Manchester City has been and always will be at the heart of the community it serves in the City of Manchester," said the club's chief executive Garry Cook.

"The longer term considerations for the area reflect the long-term commitment of our owners to the club and the community it serves."