Our Guide To The Etihad Stadium - The Home Of Manchester City
The Etihad Stadium is home to Manchester City, the current champions of the Premier League. Over the past few years, City has lifted various trophies in this impressive state-of-the-art football ground and achieved vast levels of success.
A team that performs as well as Manchester City deserves a stadium to mirror that, and that’s exactly what the blue side of Manchester has in the Etihad. But what are the finer details of this magnificent stadium?
If you’re thinking of visiting the Etihad to watch an upcoming match, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. This includes the best seats, hospitality, and travel arrangements prior to the game.
In this helpful guide, we’re going to take you through the ins and outs of Etihad so that you can have the best experience possible when buying Manchester City tickets. Hence below we will provide our guide to the Etihad Stadium - the home of Manchester City.
History Of The Etihad
Sometimes known as “The City of Manchester Stadium”, the Etihad has been the home of Manchester City since 2003 when they moved from their previous ground.
The Etihad was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. At the time this was the largest multi-sport event in British history, so an impressive stadium had to be built to match that demand.
Over the years a number of architectural changes and improvements have taken place at the stadium, with Manchester City fully redeveloping it after their takeover. It now has a capacity of 53,400 for domestic football and 60,000 for music concerts.
Travelling To The Etihad
Whichever way you are planning to travel to the stadium, it’s always important to plan ahead to ensure that you get there in time for kick-off. In order to do this, it’s important to understand various factors about the area and its public transport routes.
Walking
If you’re near the stadium and feel like walking in, there are handy online maps available on the Manchester City website. Walking to the stadium is quite simple, with plenty of signs around the place to show the way.
From Piccadilly Station, you can head up Travis Street onto Adair Street. Several routes lead to Great Ancoats Street, at which point you should turn onto Pollard Street.
Head up past New Islington and turn onto Merrill Street. Once you have reached the end of this road, you can follow Ashton New Road until you reach Etihad.
The stadium is easily visible for most of this walk, so it is likely that you will find it easily. There are also a number of bike racks around the stadium if you would like to cycle, but Manchester City takes no responsibility for what happens to these bikes.
Buses
You can get to the Etihad by travelling on the Ashton-Under-Lyne bus route. There are also plenty of Shuttle Bus options that allow fans to travel directly to the stadium, and these buses stop on Ashton New Road by the South Stand.
Metrolink
The Etihad has its own dedicated tram stop adjacent to the ground, located in City Square. The Metrolink is a helpful service that runs from the city centre. You can get the tram from Manchester Piccadilly station, which is one of the most popular stations in the country and is accessible via most major train stations.
From Piccadilly, the tram takes less than 10 minutes to arrive at the Etihad, and it is a very regular service. Metrolink prefers users to pay using contactless.
Parking
If you’re planning on driving to the Etihad, then it’s important to plan ahead for parking as it can get very busy on match days. Traffic will always be fairly congested around the stadium in the hours around a game, so take this into account when preparing to drive.
This season, the club has set up a new system to allow more visitors to park, which means you can pre-book parking spaces with Manchester City. It currently costs £8 for 2 or more passengers and £10 for single occupancy.
A car parking map is available via the Manchester City official website.
Prime Location
The Etihad is in a prime location with loads of nearby hotels and tourist hotspots. From pubs such as The Grove Inn welcoming visitors with open arms and a warm atmosphere, to fascinating historic sights such as the Clayton Hall Museum, there is plenty to do around here and it is right in the centre of the action.
Getting The Best Out Of Your Visit
If you’re wondering which spot to sit in at the Etihad, then check out our previous guide on the best places to sit at the Etihad. As you can see, there are a variety of places to choose from that serve various needs. It all depends on the sort of match-day experience you are interested in.
It is essential that you make sure you prepare properly before entering the stadium. You will not be allowed in with backpacks or bags. Only small handheld bags no larger than A4 size will be allowed into the stadium, and you will likely be searched.
With this in mind, if you would like to keep your possessions secure during your time in the Etihad, there are various bag drop stations you can visit at different locations around the stadium.
Final Thoughts
Manchester City looks like they might be set to win the Premier League title once again, and it is likely that they will lift the trophy in the Etihad. It’s always an impressive and momentous occasion to see a team win the Premier League, and Etihad has now seen its fair share.
Will the sky-blue side of Manchester be enjoying yet another year of success this season, or will Merseyside take that from them? Only time will tell, but it’s sure to be a really exciting time to be at the Etihad.