Etihad Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons,[3] is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600,[2] making it the 7th-largest football stadium in England and 11th-largest in the United Kingdom.[4]
Built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games,[5] the stadium has since staged the 2008 UEFA Cup final,[6] England football internationals,[7] rugby league matches,[8] a boxing world title fight,[6][9] the England rugby union team’s final group match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup[10] and summer music concerts during the football off-season.
The stadium, originally proposed as an athletics arena in Manchester’s bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics,[11] was converted after the 2002 Commonwealth Games from a 38,000 capacity arena to a 48,000 seat football stadium at a cost to the city council of £22 million and to Manchester City of £20 million.[12][13] Manchester City agreed to lease the stadium from Manchester City Council and moved there from Maine Road in the summer of 2003
