Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said plans to upgrade the Etihad Stadium were part of the City Football Group's wider expansion strategy, while also talking of his personal joy over plans to honour club legends Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee and Colin Bell.
In February the club announced its intention to extend the Etihad Stadium’s capacity to more than 60,000, sharing concepts with fans and neighbours as they seek to turn the ground, and its surroundings, into a leading global sports and entertainment area.
City are proposing a new, two-tier North Stand (currently home to the Family Stand) with a large single upper tier.
Concept designs also include a covered City Square fan zone with a capacity for 3,000 people. Currently this is an open air entertainment space where music and big-screen entertainment are available free before games.
There are also plans for a club shop, a museum, food and beverage outlets and a hotel — all fully integrated into the work.
“It's very exciting. It's very exciting," Al Mubarak said in a second interview released by the club.
"We've released and unveiled our plans for the development. Every year there's always something new. Because there's always a need to improve and evolve and grow.
"We don't stand still. We never stood still. The Etihad, we started somewhere and every couple of years we will do something, whether it's the Tunnel Club, whether it's the new stands, whether it's the seating. And now we're going to have a wonderful, wonderful development around it that's going to just enhance the whole area, is going to be great for the fans and it's going to bring, I think, positive revenue for the club."
Manchester City are the jewel in the crown of the City Football Group which also includes clubs from the US, China, Japan, Australia, India, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay.
Al Mubarak said the Group are "always in growth mode" and that the model is based on continually investing in all assets.
"Because this is about building value and growing value, and it's about reinvesting consistently into this club. It's about redeveloping the Etihad, it's about building the CFA [City Football Academy], it's about building a stadium in New York, it's about building an academy in Girona, it's about building an academy in Palermo, it's about investing in a club in Brazil and taking it to win hopefully and compete at the highest level in South America.
"It's always about growth and it's always about what's the next best thing. And it's always about creating and building true value for this great Group.”
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, left and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak celebrate with the trophy after City's 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul. PA -
Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano, manager Pep Guardiola and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak celebrate with the Champions League trophy after the team won a historic treble of European Cup, FA Cup and Premier League. Getty Images -
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and manager Pep Guardiola. PA -
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak poses with the European Cup. AFP -
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak embraces Manchester City's German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan after the team's 1-0 victory over Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. AFP -
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, right, and Ferran Soriano celebrate with the European Cup on the pitch. AFP -
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak with the Champions League Trophy following victory over Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul. PA -
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, left, Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, centre, and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak during the Champions League final match at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul. PA -
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola greets Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak as he goes to collect the FA Cup after City's 2-1 win over Manchester United at Wembley, in London, on June 3, 2023. AFP -
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, right, celebrates with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak after being crowned 2022/23 Premier League champions. EPA -
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and the club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. EPA
City have just achieved a historic treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles with the talk very much on whether Pep Guardiola's current crop might be one of the best teams ever assembled.
But Al Mubarak said that, although all eyes were on the future, it was important City recognise players of the past and honour its history.
Summerbee, Bell and Lee were part of the Manchester City side that won the old First Division in 1967/68 and are part of the club's folklore. The trio are to be honoured by the club with a statue to stand alongside modern club greats Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.
“I've seen the statue and obviously I've been very involved in this because it's something that is very personal for me," Al Mubarak said.
"You have to recognise greatness and you have to recognise the incredible people that have contributed to what we have today. We have a responsibility as caretakers of this great club. And while obviously the statues that have been built so far have recognised the modern-day heroes of Manchester City, what this new statue is going to give is something that I think every City fan I think truly appreciates, which is the great history of this club.
"And it's represented with Francis, Colin and Mike and having them together in hopefully a magnificent piece of art, I think is the least we can do for what they've done. And really leaving that everlasting legacy – always there to remember what this club has; it has an incredible history.”
