A beacon of blue. The next stop in our Residence series lands us in the blue half of Manchester at City's Etihad Stadium. A modern masterpiece of architectural awe. The north of England provides a timeline of football throwbacks, from rusting turnstiles to wooden seats, but Manchester City's Etihad Stadium is a new generation of football stadia that complements the forward thinking of the club that calls it home.
Maine Road was rich in character, a proper English ground drenched in nostalgia, but the Etihad defines Manchester City's progression and has coincided with the most successful era in the history of the football club. Many new stadiums can be copy and paste soulless bowls but the Etihad ain't that. Unique it its construction, the architectural focal point being the sweeping roof and support masts that overlook play and have already witnessed Commonwealth Gold medals and the most famous goal in Premier League history.
With Aguero's heroics still echoing around this empty arena, and City's ship riding high on a wave optimism as the good times come rolling back to the Citizens, the Etihad provides the vessel for success for this club, equipped to sail the stormy seas of Champions League football and new adventures entirely as the club aim to establish themselves as a global footballing powerhouse. When you're one of the world's richest football clubs, you don't cut any corners on design and the Etihad is a statement of intent.
A 53,000 capacity will become 61,000 as City add a third tier to the North Stand in a project that is progressing as quickly as the project on the pitch these seats surround. The area of M11 very much has a feel of City territory, dominated by a state of the art complex blessed in blue and finished in football. This isn't just a stadium, this is a legacy. City, cheers for 'avin us.
Photography by Ben Oldham for SoccerBible.
