Sisk widely expected to be named contractor for autumn start
Manchester city councillors have approved a major expansion of the Etihad stadium, with construction slated to begin in November.
Treble winners Manchester City want to increase the number of seats in the north stand by 7,900, taking overall capacity to 61,958.
The Etihad currently seats 54,000 after the expansion of its South Stand by Laing O’Rourke in 2014 with the new extension designed by Populous making it the UK’s eighth largest stadium.
As well as a new upper tier for the north stand, the redevelopment will see a nine-storey, 391-bed hotel, with an attached restaurant, and the construction of a roof-walk attraction.
An existing club shop will be demolished and replace with an eight-storey building which will house the new club shop, the ticket office, a museum, an interactive visitor experience and 4,000 sq m of workspace for small businesses and startups.
A covered City Square fan zone, with a capacity of 3,000 and food and drink outlets, is also planned.
>> See also: To refurb or rebuild: what next for Old Trafford?
>> See also: Old Trafford dilemma: how six other major stadium projects fared
According to a planning report, the £300m investment would “make the stadium and campus a year-round visitor destination complementing the facilities that are due to become operational at the COOP Live arena”.
Sisk was listed in the report, along with Laing O’Rourke, as having carried out one of two construction management plans for the scheme.
In June, City began the hunt for a new builder after failing to agree on a price for the job with Laing O’Rourke.
Now widely considered the frontrunner, Sisk’s path was cleared earlier this month after Bam – the contractor on the City Football Academy and the nearby Co-op Live Arena – ruled itself out of the running.
The club has previously said it would award a construction contract in September.
According to the planning report, the operational phase of the build will create more than 600 full-time roles.
The North Stand expansion is expected to complete for the beginning of the 2025/26 football season, while the hotel, workspace and public realm works would complete in mid-2026.
While the scheme’s backers include local MP Lucy Powell, there were five objections to approval, which focused on the light and noise impact on nearby residents and on the alleged poor design quality of the hotel building, which objectors described as looking like “a 1960s polytechnic” and “less inspiring than a Travelodge”.
No comments yet