New Ethiad Stadium North Stand to be opened in January

Manchester City has said it is aiming to open the expanded North Stand at Etihad Stadium by January 2026, with the club engaging Radisson as its partner for the hotel that is part of the wider project.

The Premier League club’s previous official line was that the North Stand itself would open during the 2025-26 season, with the hotel, workspace and public realm works elements of the wider project, including City Square, following in late 2026.

However, the Manchester Evening News, citing the Forever Blue podcast, said City’s managing director of operations, Danny Wilson, put forward January 2026 at a club event, with this date the target so long as the project progresses as planned.

The £300m venture aims to deliver one of the best matchday experiences in world sport and a world-class, year-round entertainment destination for fans and global visitors alike.

Centred around an expanded North Stand with one larger, single upper tier increasing Etihad Stadium’s capacity from 53,400 to over 60,000, the project also includes a sky bar with views overlooking the pitch, a stadium roof walk experience, a covered City Square fan zone with a wide variety of food and drink outlets and a capacity for 3,000 people, a new club shop and museum, a workspace and a 401-room hotel.