Premier League defending champions Manchester City have announced plans of increasing the capacity of their Etihad Stadium to 61,000.
The club plans to add 7,700 seats on the already existing structure at the stadium’s North stand, and the whole expansion plans include a hotel, an extended fan park with a capacity for 3000 fans, food and drink outlets as well as a museum.
Over the years, the club has been trolled for not being able to fill up their current 53,400-capacity Etihad Stadium and at one point manager Pepe Guardiola asked more fans to come up to the stadium and cheer on their team.
If the plans are approved by the authorities, the Etihad Stadium will join a few other Premier League clubs with over 60,000 capacity stadiums. Here are the five biggest stadiums, by capacity, in the Premier League.
Old Trafford, Manchester United
Manchester United’s Theatre of Dreams is the biggest stadium in the Premier League with a capacity of 74,310. Construction for the stadium broke ground in 1909. The stadium’s record attendance was for a match between Wolverhampton and Grimsby Tow in 1939.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham’s new stadium is the second largest in the Premier League. Its seating capacity is 62,850, making it the largest club stadium in London. The stadium was opened in 2019 and its record attendance was a match between Tottenham and their North London rivals Arsenal in May 2022 (61,024).
London Stadium
West Ham’s home ground, also known as the Olympic Stadium comes in third place with a seating capacity of 62,500. Constructed between 2008 and 2011 specifically for the London 2012 Olympic games, the stadium was renovated for multipurpose use. Its record attendance was this season’s opener against Manchester City with 62,443 people watching in the stands.
Emirates Stadium
Arsenal’s Emirates stadium has a seating capacity of 60,704 which makes it the fourth-largest stadium in the Premier League and the fifth largest in England. The stadium was completed in 2006 and had its record attendance in November 2019 when 60,383 fans attended the club’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Etihad Stadium
Originally known as the City of Manchester Stadium, the Etihad stadium’s 53,400 seating capacity makes it the fifth largest in the Premier League. The stadium was opened in July 2002 for the Commonwealth Games and in August for football. Etihad Stadium registered its record attendance last season in the Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid. 53,000 people watched that match in the stadium. Upon completion of the proposed expansion works, the Etihad stadium will exchange positions with Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
