Newcastle United will no doubt be paying close attention to the goings on in Manchester as City unveiled ambitious plans to expand the Etihad Stadium within the next three years. The Premier League champions plan to increase their capacity from 53,400 to 60,000 by expanding the North Stand.
City's £300m plans, which have been submitted to Manchester City Council, would see the addition of one larger, single upper tier above the existing lower tier. City also seek to make the stadium a 'new all-year round entertainment destination'.
The introduction of a fan zone with capacity for 3,000 people, a wealth of new food and drink outlets, a new club shop, a museum and a 400-bed hotel are also on the agenda. Danny Wilson, Managing Director of Manchester City Operations, said: “Over several months we have been developing concepts and designs for a best-in-class fan experience and year-round entertainment and leisure destination at the Etihad Stadium."
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Newcastle's owners have also made no secret of the fact they want to expand St James' Park and improve the matchday experience for supporters. The decision to buy back the Strawberry Place land in recent months was crucial for both ambitions.
A new fan zone outside Newcastle's home ground could be built in the coming years while sweeping, internal changes of the stadium are expected this summer. There is an expectation a similar capacity increase will come sooner rather than later with the Gallowgate End extended when the time is right.
Magpies co-owner Amanda Staveley has made her feelings clear on St James' Park and certainly feels changes are needed to make the 52,000-seat venue is 'fit for purpose'.
“We love St James’ Park,” said Staveley, who was speaking at real estate conference MIPIM. “We luckily bought Strawberry Place, and we’ve been talking to architects about what we can actually do.
“We desperately need to invest in the stadium. It’s just the most incredible place, but it needs to be fit for purpose. We create so much magic in that stadium every day, and every time there’s a game on, Sky (Sports) love coming. The broadcasters love it, because they get real content.
"There’s that sense of excitement that we have to build and deliver, because a lot of people can’t visit St James’.”
Plans had been drafted to increase the size of St James' Park before Mike Ashley bought the club in 2007. Former executive director Russell Jones told Chronicle Live of those plans recently.
"We always had the idea of purchasing Strawberry Place, extending the stand and bridging the hotel over the road," Jones said. "That's what we were going to do there.
"The idea was that we could extend the stand back and build a hotel that would be like a hotel for younger players and some of the senior players where they would get looked after, and to also provide some entertainment facilities there at the same time. That was always the idea, to extend that way."
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