Stadium Expansion..

[Abu Dhabi]

Dont know how reliable is this information, but what do you make out of it?

From NOTW

MANCHESTER CITY have risked infuriating rivals United by pinching the World Cup semi-final from Old Trafford in 2018.

City chief executive Garry Cook outlined his amazing proposal while he schmoozed FIFA delegates during their 2018 visit.

Despite denials from City officials last year, the club are planning to increase stadium capacity to 75,000.

They have already commissioned the world's leading architect Rafael Vinoly - who is behind the regeneration project at Battersea Power Station in London - to design their new super-stadium.

City are committed to the regeneration project at Eastlands and have already started work on nearly 70 acres of land around the site - and they plan to make an official announcement about their World Cup plans in November.

Cook made his move during a dinner with FIFA delegates at Manchester Town Hall.

He outlined his plans for the stadium redevelopment project and is convinced City can see off the threat of United's rival bid.

England's 2018 World Cup team are aware of City's stadium proposals and have responded positively to the idea.

If England win right to host the World Cup, FIFA will nominate the semi-final venues in 2013 - giving City plenty of time to bring their stadium up to scratch.

The City chief has also curried favour with England's 2018 bid team by promising his full support for the project.

England's 2018 team have been impressed with City's vision and will let them fight it out with United for the semi-final.

United are convinced FIFA will nominate their 76,000 capacity cathedral as one of the semi-final stadiums if England host the World Cup.

United hosted the Champions League final in 2003, but it is under threat as the city's iconic stadium from neighbours City.

The city council have already agreed to push the metro link out to Eastlands, but this is just the start of a regeneration project that could take five years to complete.

[Socrates]

Risk infuriating rivals Un*ted LMAO.

[stinky pete]

been waiting for stadium plans for ages when its official i will believe it.

[ant london]

Can we will a stadium with 75,000 seats though?

yes I'd say so.....pricing would have to be right and we'd need to do well this season and next and be looking to be definitely in the big time proper but yeah we could fill it

[john@staustell]

Can we will a stadium with 75,000 seats though?

???????????????

Fill?


I'm sure we can fill it by then.

My question would be about Cookie button-holing a few blokes at the dinner and doing a deal whilst washing his hands in the mens loo. Is that really likely?

[Socrates]

Whether or not we can fill it is actually not a relevant question. For most clubs, it would only be worth investing in a stadium of a size that they can fill as they would need to justify the expenditure in terms of revenue. For us, under current conditions (yes as with everything, it is Platini's rules again that dictate what we are doing), it is solely about maximising revenue - so it is worth doing up to the capacity that we can hope to fill sometimes thereby maximising our average gate and revenue from matches. If we have a 75,000 seater stadium and average 60,000 a game then we increase matchday revenue by 25% over the season. The actual cost of development won't count for the profit and loss account for UEFA purposes so the extra revenue from tickets, the shop, catering, City Street etc is all helping us balance the books.

[Kladze]

They have already commissioned the world's leading architect Rafael Vinoly - who is behind the regeneration project at Battersea Power Station in London - to design their new super-stadium.

I hope he's been briefed that the first priority is to turn it form an athletics stadium into a football 'cathedral'.

[Socrates]

They have already commissioned the world's leading architect Rafael Vinoly - who is behind the regeneration project at Battersea Power Station in London - to design their new super-stadium.

I hope he's been briefed that the first priority is to turn it form an athletics stadium into a football 'cathedral'.

I don't understand that statement at all. It was most definitely designed as a football stadium, the athletics design was just an interim use. The fact that they used a temporary stand set back from the others then reduced the internal area by both completing the circle with the 4th permanent end AND digging down to extend the stands further forward is evidence of that!

[Nigels Tackle]

this lot have been working on stadium related plans for the last year.... http://www.populous.com/

[CITYSTEVEDON]

i am sorry, but we will never fill a 75k ground, unless we charge £20 tops for seasontickets and £28 for city/day trippers.

[Crossie]

Im all for it, I'm pretty sure the atmosphere will go though, it will be 1/3 full of tourists, and people will start moaning about the clubs soul.

[Lee_R]

With that capacity it would certainly enable us to forcast higher revenues which would surly benefit us with all these new uefa platini bollocks rules?

[stinky pete]

pay on the gate ???? remember the days

[brite blu sky]

im not sure that anyone can justifyably know if we would or wouldn't fill a 75k stad. reason being we have not had any kind of success that would attract the lapsed City fans, glory hunters or whatever you want to call them for such a long time.
I rekon it will be surprising how many fans will come out of the woodwork in Manchester if City were to win something and look like they could continue to win stuff. It wont happen until we win.. and probably the title. I still have a residual feeling that a lot of people in Manchester have over the years decided that City were an embarrassment and just wont go near the place, win something and they will all want to be a part of it. How many people there are that take that attitude is open to question, but once a momentum gets going it will have its own knock on effect.

[ashton287]

to be fair were selling 40,000+ most league games and that while were charging £32 for shit teams and £50+ for the big games, i'd assume with a bigger capacity we would be able to sell more tickets for less and make more profit anyway. It's definately the price of tickets that puts alot of people off i reckon.

[the_georgian_genius]

Unless the tickets become a tenner there is no way whatsoever we will fill 75,000. Even for a derby and they took 10,000!

I'd rather have a 60,000 full ground than have 15k-20k empty seats for the shit games.

[Murph]

The rags were only getting 30 odd thousand for a lot of games in the years before they became successful, and sometimes less than 30,000. Don't believe the fairy-tale that they have always had the support to sell out game after game, the crowds they get now is down to success on the pitch, nothing else. I don't see why we can't increase our average attendance markedly with a bit of success, and as Socs has pointed out it's not about selling out every game, it's about maximising revenue now that Platini has got his plans through.

[razor400]

If you build it, they will come.

[Burt]

The rags were only getting 30 odd thousand for a lot of games in the years before they became successful, and sometimes less than 30,000. Don't believe the fairy-tale that they have always had the support to sell out game after game, the crowds they get now is down to success on the pitch, nothing else. I don't see why we can't increase our average attendance markedly with a bit of success, and as Socs has pointed out it's not about selling out every game, it's about maximising revenue now that Platini has got his plans through.

Was the 30 odd thousand in the period when they were rebuilding the swamp mate? I recall that since Munich 58, they've near enough always had a full capacity, allbeit with a large attendance of folk from a long way from Mancland.

[the_georgian_genius]

So what happens when we are playing on a Monday night on tele against Wigan. We will get 75k for that game at £30 a ticket? Not a cat in hells chance.

That's not being full time, just realistic. We didn't sell out v Liverpool, our first home game of the season after a £130m spending spree.