As Pep Guardiola and his players look to make progress in the United States, work is ongoing to make sure the Blues are ready for the new season at the Etihad. This week the roof of the North Stand started to come down as the club looks to ensure it can be taken down in time to allow the pitch to be laid in time for the new season.
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City do not play at home on the opening Premier League weekend so they may have extra time to get it ready for the visit of Tottenham, but a club that has already handed over over £1m in fines for being late onto the pitch last season do not want to give any other reason for them to be punished. That makes it essential that the Blues do the construction they need to do this summer on the North Stand ahead of their August start date.
In terms of when the top tier will be ready with its 6,000 extra seats, that is less fixed. The expectation has been that test events will be able to start in early 2026, which will then build towards a full 61,000-capacity.
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However, that is still too far away for the club to be able to offer up extra tickets for any games next season never mind a condensed season ticket or anything like that. It will be ready when it's ready, and everyone can go from there.
The fixture list has thrown up an extra incentive for those involved to make sure the development is on time though. While City play the majority of the bigger clubs at home earlier in the season, April 18 stands out for the visit of Arsenal.
City used the full power of the Etihad to overpower Mikel Arteta's side in a title decider in April 2023, and it was also one of the most raucous matches at the Etihad last year in an intense 2-2 draw. Having an additional 6,000 fans in the ground would certainly give City something extra in a season where they and the Gunners will be looking to put up better challenges for the title.
There's also the last game of the season at home against Aston Villa, throwing up memories of the famous comeback in 2022. City would rather not be in such a dramatic situation again, but if they are then those extra one per cents could make the difference.
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Add to that a potential Champions League run, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid blown away in that unforgettable period in the spring and summer of 2023, and there are plenty of reasons why City should be hoping that they can open the new North Stand in time for some of their biggest matches of the season.
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