Manchester City seek stadium expansion to hold 61000 - BBC News

11 October 2013 Last updated at 07:49 ET

Manchester City have announced plans to increase the capacity of their ground from 48,000 to about 61,000.

The Premier League club will add a third tier behind the goals of the Etihad Stadium's North and South stands, subject to planning approval.

Tiers will include about 6,750 seats, with fans able to join a season ticket waiting list for the seats next week.

The club aim to submit the plans next month and hope work will start on the project in February.

City said the work would not impact season ticket holders attending home matches. The tiers are expected to be completed for the beginning of the 2015/16 season.

The team has played its home fixtures at the stadium since 2003.

A club spokesman said: "Should the club's exciting plans receive planning approval, City's home, which this year celebrates its 10th birthday, is set to be even more visually dramatic".

The stadium initially had a capacity of 38,000 when it was built for the Commonwealth Games, which were held in Manchester in 2002.

The planned expansion would see the stadium become the second largest in the Premier League, behind neighbours Manchester United's Old Trafford home which holds more than 75,000.

Premier League	Ground	Capacity
Arsenal	Emirates Stadium	60,361
Aston Villa	Villa Park	42,788
Cardiff City	Cardiff City Stadium	26,828
Chelsea	Stamford Bridge	41,837
Crystal Palace	Selhurst Park	26,309
Everton	Goodison Park	40,221
Fulham	Craven Cottage	25,700
Hull City	KC Stadium	25,404
Liverpool	Anfield	45,525
Manchester City	Etihad Stadium	48,000
Manchester United	Old Trafford	75,811
Newcastle United	St James' Park	52,387
Norwich City	Carrow Road	27,010
Southampton	St Mary's Stadium	32,689
Stoke City	Britannia Stadium	27,740
Sunderland	Stadium of Light	49,000
Swansea City	Liberty Stadium	22,500
Tottenham Hotspur	White Hart Lane	36,230
West Bromwich Albion	The Hawthorns	26,272
West Ham United	Upton Park	35,016