Manchester City add immersive theatre venue to Medlock Square Etihad Campus project

Manchester City have expanded the scope of their Medlock Square development with plans for a new immersive event venue at the Etihad Campus, reinforcing the club’s strategy to build a year-round entertainment destination around the stadium.The club has submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council for a three-storey venue that would host the global theatrical dining experience ‘Mamma Mia! The Party’, combining live performance with premium hospitality. The proposal forms part of the wider Medlock Square development adjacent to the Etihad Stadium, which is designed to transform the campus into a multi-use leisure and events hub rather than a venue primarily used on matchdays.Situated at the north-east of the campus, the new venue has been designed to complement both the Etihad Stadium’s expanded North Stand and the neighbouring Co-op Live arena. Working with entertainment investors and producers Pophouse Entertainment, the venue would offer a theatrical dining experience for around 600 guests per show. The production has been staged at The O2 in London since 2019 and in Stockholm for more than a decade, with Manchester proposed as the next location in its international expansion.Danny Wilson, managing director of Manchester City Operations, said: “Working with Pophouse, the Club’s latest proposal to further develop the Etihad Campus is an incredibly exciting opportunity for both East Manchester and the wider city more generally.“We know there is ever increasing demand for more immersive entertainment experiences in the North of England and we are incredibly proud to have put forward plans for consideration by Manchester City Council to bring a world-renowned event to Manchester’s newest entertainment destination, Medlock Square.” Medlock Square sits at the centre of Manchester City’s wider Etihad Campus redevelopment, a project estimated at around £300 million that includes a 3,000-capacity event space, hospitality and retail outlets, and new visitor attractions.The district will also feature a 401-room Medlock Hotel operated by Radisson Blu, alongside bars, restaurants, cafés and a flagship Manchester City retail store.Visitor experiences planned for the site include a stadium roof walk, abseiling and zip-wire attractions, as well as a new immersive club museum designed to expand the campus’s tourism offer.The development is integrated with the Etihad Stadium’s North Stand expansion, which will add around 7,000 seats and new premium hospitality areas, taking overall capacity to more than 60,000.Club executives view the project as part of a long-term strategy to drive non-matchday revenue and increase visitor activity at the Etihad Campus, aligning with a broader trend among European clubs to develop mixed-use entertainment districts around major stadium infrastructure.Manchester City say the project is also expected to generate new employment opportunities across construction, hospitality and entertainment roles as the campus continues to expand.