Manchester Sportcity: Seminar and facility tour

The journey to the development of Manchester Sportcity can be traced back to an initial bid to host the 1996 Olympic Games, with a further attempt to bid for the 2000 Olympic Games.  Although both bids were unsuccessful, the process of bidding for these events brought together key decision makers in Manchester City Council and National Government to focus on the opportunity for regenerating the Eastlands area of the city and led to the construction of the Manchester Velodrome (now the National Cycling Centre).

The focus then shifted to the opportunity to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with a successful bid leading to the development of the City of Manchester Stadium (now the Etihad Stadium) and a range of other sports facilities that were needed to host the games.  A forward-thinking legacy strategy ensured that the stadium was designed to be converted from athletics to football use after the event, along with ensuring that the other venues would support both elite and community sport.

An innovative funding model was then developed which allowed the stadium to generate significant revenue for re-investment into local sports projects, as well as creating a framework agreement between Manchester City Council, City Football Group and arena operator Oak View Group that has enabled the ongoing development of the Etihad Stadium, City Football Academy and the recent opening of Co-Op Live (the largest indoor arena in the UK).

The conference will bring together key individuals from the main partners in this project, to map out the steps required to bring the vision of Manchester Sportcity to life over the past 30 years, including building tours with the operators of the major venues and a networking dinner in the stadium on the Tuesday evening.