English Premier League football club Manchester City is set to reduce the capacity of its Etihad Stadium by around 1,100 to make way for its new ‘supersized LED’ pitchside advertising system.
City announced last month that it would offer the most commercially valuable pitchside media space in the Premier League after commencing installation of the new two-tier digital display system.
City hopes the system will revolutionise the way its matchday content is showcased. The system will feature two tiers of screens that can synchronise to act as one supersized pitchside presence.
To carry out the upgrades, City will need to remove some seats on the front rows of the Etihad Stadium, the Manchester Evening News reports. The newspaper reported that “up to three rows” of seats in the North, East and South Stands will be removed, reducing the stadium’s overall capacity by 1,100 to around 54,000.
Season ticket holders affected by the removal of the seats have been informed and offered a space elsewhere at the same price.
“As part of Manchester City’s ongoing development works to enhance the Etihad Stadium a second row of digital signage will be installed in the lower stadium bowl,” the club said in a statement reported by the MEN. “Regrettably, a small percentage of seats allocated to both season card holders and supporters who purchase on match by match basis will be removed.
“Impacted season card holders were contacted in December 2020 and informed that they will be given relocation priority ahead of the 2021-22 season. Season card holders who relocate will pay no more than their 2019-20 season card price next season, irrespective of where their new seat is located.”
The new LED displays are being provided by Chinese LED display solutions specialist Unilumin, which signed a global partnership with City in January.
In October 2018, Wolverhampton Wanderers announced that it had become the first club in the Premier League to install a double perimeter LED system at its Molineux stadium.
Image: Manchester City
