Man City unveil 'ambitious' extension plans
FA Cup champions Manchester City have unveiled extensive plans around its Etihad Stadium that would form the central part of a record sponsorship agreement, according to reports.
Abu Dhabi-owned City last week signed football’s largest sponsorship agreement with Etihad airlines.
Etihad will pay more than £300 million ($482 million) over 10 years, giving unprofitable City a boost in its bid to meet European soccer’s rules on fiscal responsibility.
The ambitious Premier League club want to develop up to 80 acres of brownfield land as part of their recently-announced Etihad Campus project.
Etihad, whose name is on the team’s shirt and stadium, will also put its logo on projects including a new training ground, youth development centre, sports science facility and a bridge if plans are approved by local residents and lawmakers as part of a consultation process that began on Monday.
When complete the facility will include an academy for 400 players, 16 football pitches, state-of-the-art first-team training and injury rehabilitation facilities, a 7,000-capacity stadium and staff offices.
It will bring all arms of the club together with a bridge linking the site to the Etihad Stadium and the rest of the Etihad Campus. The first team and some staff are currently based nine miles away from Eastlands at Carrington.
“Our research to date has been painstaking and our planning comprehensive, and whilst our plans would inevitably have a positive impact on both our young and established playing talent, the regenerative and economic impact for the community should not be underestimated,” City’s chief executive officer Garry Cook said in a statement.
“Manchester City’s ambition is to be a successful and sustainable football club and youth recruitment and development through a top-class facility is a key component of that ambition," he added.
The scale of City’s £200 million programme, which comes after the club studied more than 30 sports development centres around the world, is the largest of its kind.
Owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's Minister of Presidential Affairs, has already spent more than $1 billion on the club since acquiring it in September 2008.
Former City midfielder Patrick Vieira, who last week retired to begin a new role as football development executive at the club, said: “The club have been working for three years to develop the best facilities for youth and first team and they have come up with something unbelievable.
“It will benefit the club and the city and I think everyone will be very proud that the city has a development like this.”
City have earmarked 5.5 acres of the site for further community use, which could include an education facility and a sports institute. A period of public consultation, featuring an exhibition at the Etihad Stadium, will begin this week.