Now home to Manchester City Football Club, the stadium was originally built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
The expansion of the Etihad created the third largest stadium in the English Premier League, increasing capacity from 48,000 to over 55,000 by expanding the South Stand with a third tier. The new stand also includes a corporate lounge area with a 450 seat restaurant and sports bars. Outside the football season the stadium is one of the UK’s largest music venues with a maximum capacity of 60,000 for performances.
The stadium has a bowl design and is totally enclosed. The virtually identical stands on either side of the pitch include a row of executive boxes that run across the stands between the second and third tiers and there are two large video screens in opposite corners of the ground.

Sandy Brown provided the detailed acoustic design for the development. Key considerations included:

• acoustics within the stadium to increase crowd roar
• noise egress during football matches and concerts
• TV broadcasting studios located within the development
• performance of roof and building envelope.

The design of the stadium roof is a key feature in making this one of Manchester’s most iconic sporting venues and it was essential that the extension to this feature must preserve its unique identity. As the roof had originally been designed to maximise the audibility of PA announcements during the Commonwealth Games, our advice included increasing reflections to emphasise crowd noise and improve the atmosphere during matches.