Soccer

MANCHESTER CITY have reached a new milestone in its £300MILLION expansion of the Etihad Stadium.The Premier League champions are working on a new North Stand to be integrated with the rest of the ground.Man City have reached a milestone in the expansion project of the Etihad StadiumCredit: PAThe club are spending £300million on the North StandCredit: PAThe new capacity will be over 60,000The expansion project is expected to increase capacity to nearly 62,000 with 7,900 new seats.Contractor John Sisk & Son started the steelwork in May and have now officially started attaching the bolt work.This will see the new structure connect to the existing stadium.Man City are hopeful of having the new stands open to fans by the middle of the 2025/26 season.READ MORE ON FOOTBALLIt is claimed that the scheme will “promise to enhance the fan experience”.This will be done with the inclusion of the 3,000-capacity fan zone.The plans also include the construction of a 400-bed hotel as well as a new club shop and a museum.The work is also thought to have promised a “significant economic boost through job creation and development in the community”.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSTo mark the occasion the Citizens invited the Cartwright family to hear about the project.The family has four generations who have supported the club since the 1960s.Bizarre moment man dressed as Elsa from Frozen sings Let It Go karaoke on pitch ahead of FA Cup first-round clashThe plans include the building of a sky bar that overlooks the pitchCredit: MANCHESTER CITYMan City have been in the ground since leaving Maine RoadCredit: MANCHESTER CITYThe original capacity of the ground was closer to 30,000Credit: MANCHESTER CITYThe family includes a former City hero in Gary Owen who played for the club between 1975 and 1979.Director of Infrastructure Development Ed Dalton said: “It’s an exciting moment in our building programme for the new steel structure to be attached and bolted to the existing North Stand.”Fans and visitors can see the extended upper tier progressing which really gives a sense of the scale of the expansion and how the inclusion of 3,000 new rail seats will add to the electric atmosphere on matchdays.“Hosting a special day for the Cartwright family, who have been here for many of the major moments at the Etihad Stadium and are excited to watch many more in the future, was a fitting way to acknowledge the symbolic joining of the old and the new.”Work is progressing at pace on the development, and we’re looking forward to marking more milestones in the coming months before we welcome fans into the expanded North Stand during the 2025-26 season.”The stand will also include a new sky bar, which will overlook the pitch. There will also be a pitch and stadium roof walk experience for fans.Man City have been at the Etihad Stadium since ditching Maine Road in the 2003/04 season.The original capacity of the ground was 38,000 but previous work has risen the number to 53,400.And the new investment isn’t just welcomed, but perhaps necessary.READ MORE SUN STORIESSupporters in the ground for City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend were soaked after a leak in the roof at the Etihad poured down onto the crowd.Meanwhile Premier League rivals Arsenal are exploring ways to increase the Emirates capacity to 80,000.Who are these famous footballers? More

HARRY KANE’S “fugly” £7,200 statue has been branded the “stuff of nightmares” after it was finally unveiled following nearly five years of sitting in storage.The England captain and former Tottenham star was all smiles as he sat next to his likeness at the Peter May Sports Centre in Walthamstow, London, on Monday.A new £7,200 statue of Harry Kane has been unveiledCredit: PAThe bronze sculpture had been sitting in storage for nearly five yearsCredit: PAThe bronze statue depicts Kane sitting down while holding a football on his lap.And the Bayern Munich ace happily posed alongside less than 24 hours after scoring in England’s 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.Kane tweeted afterwards: “A real proud moment for me to go back to where my life in football began and unveil a statue. I hope it helps inspire the next generation to work hard and believe in themselves.”The statue cost a whopping £7,200 to create.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLIt was commissioned by the borough of Waltham Forest, where Kane was born, in 2019 when he was still playing for Totttenham.The statue was built in honour of England’s all-time highest goalscorer, who has 426 career strikes to his name.But the council left Kane’s tribute sitting in storage for almost five years.That’s because they could not find a location deemed suitable enough to place it.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSHowever, it was decided to place Kane’s statue at the Peter May Sports Centre in Walthamstow.It now sits along a wall decorated with graffiti art highlighting the pinnacles of Kane’s illustrious career.England’s Stellar Performance: Player Ratings vs IrelandIt was unveiled alongside a mural dedicated to Kane in Walthamstow, where he was bornCredit: PAFans reckon the statue did not look a lot like the England captainCredit: PAThat’s after plans to display it at Chingford Rail Station were scrapped over fears it could be targeted by rival football fans.However, Kane’s statue has not gone down well with supporters, with many branding it “fugly.”One declared: “That’s the stuff of nightmares.”Another said: “I doubt Kane is happy with this.”One noted: “Why’s his head so big?”Another added: “Why does he have a goatee?”Kane is not the first footballer to receive a dodgy statue of himself.In 2017, an infamous bust of Cristiano Ronaldo went up at Madeira airport.READ MORE SUN STORIESHowever, it looked nothing like the legendary striker and widely ridiculed.It was removed after just 15 months on display and remains in storage to this day.Cristiano Ronaldo famously had a statue of himself go viralCredit: ReutersThe bust at Madeira Airport was removed after 15 monthsCredit: AFP or licensors More