Etihad campus
Etihad campus
September 8 – Manchester City have opened their Radisson Blu hotel at the Etihad Campus, the first major piece of the club’s £300 million push to turn the area around their stadium into a year-round commercial and entertainment district.
The Medlock opened on Monday and sits between the Etihad Stadium and the 23,500-capacity Co-op Live arena. It has been developed as a collaboration between the club and Radisson Hotel Group.
City’s aim is to attract football supporters, concertgoers, business travellers and visitors to Manchester throughout the year, while keeping more of that spending within the Etihad Campus. Some rooms even overlook the pitch and can be converted into hospitality suites on matchdays.
The hotel also connects into a wide roster of conference and event spaces across the Campus, including the new 3,000-capacity covered fanzone at Medlock Square.
City’s £300 million development includes around 7,000 additional seats in the North Stand, taking Etihad capacity beyond 60,000, alongside a new museum, much larger club shop, restaurants, offices and a roof walk. The club have previously said the project will create around 2,600 jobs.
The Co-op Live arena, developed by City Football Group and Oak View Group, gives the area a regular flow of visitors when there is no football being played next door.
City Football Group COO Roel de Vries backed that up, describing the wider project as a “year-round entertainment destination”, rather than simply an expansion of the stadium.
The opening also comes as City begin another Champions League campaign, away to Porto tonight. Europe has been a disappointment since City’s 2023 triumph. They fell in the knockout play-offs in 2024/25 before going out in the last 16 last season, and now enter the competition with without their Pep-shaped prized asset and a heavily rebuilt squad.
After spending around £458 million over the summer, including major deals for Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Iliman Ndiaye and Enzo Fernández, City have effectively reset the team at the same time as the Etihad itself is being transformed.
The growing commercial value of the Campus is also changing City’s relationship with Manchester City Council, which owns the stadium and leases it to the club. The council approved changes to those leases last week as the expansion increases the amount of money the site can generate. The new financial terms have not been disclosed.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at harry.ewing@insideworldfootball.com