Have you ever wanted to experience how it feels to walk out of the players’ tunnel and into the Etihad Stadium?
Now’s your chance.
Manchester City have just put the finishing touches on their new and improved stadium and club tour.
MM went down to the incredible Etihad Campus to check it out.
The first part of the tour is a self-guided roam through City’s illustrious history. Sergio Aguero’s title-winning goal in 2012 will live long in the memory of the club’s fans, and supporters are able to take a peak at the ball he slammed past Paddy Kenny on that famous day in May.
It was at this point that we were joined by our guide, Mike, a life-long City fan who led us into the Etihad Stadium.
BLOWN AWAY: MM’s Jordan enjoying the City tour
Mike’s outstanding knowledge of the local area and City’s history blew us away, helping to bring the tour to life.
We were then taken to see one of the stadium’s latest features: The Tunnel Club.
Those lucky enough to experience it on a match-day are treated to fine dining, incredible views of the game, and a unique insight into the players’ preparations, costing up to £519 for category A matches.
The tour was then led outside into the Tunnel Club match day seats, where fans have the opportunity to embrace the enormous scale of the Etihad Stadium from the comfort of the best seats in the house.
Whilst sitting in our heated leather seats, Mike continued to fill us in on the history of the stadium, explaining the various transformations of the ground as well as detailing more about the state of the art playing surface which the players entertain on.
Following this, we were taken through to our favourite part of the tour – the dressing rooms.
First up, we were led into the away dressing room, which is deliberately bereft of air conditioning to make the opposition as uncomfortable as possible.
HOME SWEET HOME: MM’s Max is all smiles in the City locker room
We got to sit down in the same places occupied by players such as Wayne Rooney, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mané in recent weeks.
Then, the big one.
We were led into another new feature of the tour, the brand-new state of the art home team dressing room, where Agüero, David Silva and co. receive their pre-match instructions from Pep Guardiola.
Sitting in the personal seats of our idols was a truly spectacular and unique experience, fantastic for all kids, big and small, no matter the age!
After taking a quick peek into the warm-up areas and medical treatment rooms, the tour moved down into the uniquely redesigned tunnel area before we had the opportunity to visualise walking out onto the pitch.
Tourists can gain first-hand experience of taking in the scale of the 55,000-seater stadium and get the chance of sitting in both Guardiola’s home dugout and visitor dugouts frequented by the likes of Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.
Penultimately, Mike ushered the tour into the second hospitality area – the Premier Tunnel Club.
Fans are able to get closer to the players and receive a unique view of their pre-match preparations and post-match celebrations by being able to view the tunnel area, whilst receiving a five star dining and entertainment experience.
Finally, the tour moved into the ginormous press conference room where we imitated Guardiola fielding a range of questions from the awaiting media.
Overall, the tour was a thoroughly enjoyable and insightful experience providing behind the scenes access, suitable for people of all ages, no matter what team they support.
Manchester City FC’s Stadium & Club Tour is a great day out for the whole family. Visit www.mancity.com/tours for full information on dates and prices.
