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Getting to Etihad Stadium

Ready for the big match at Man City? Located near the very heart of Manchester, the Etihad Stadium, originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, is easily accessible by various modes of transport—trams, buses, bikes, or even on foot.

In this guide, we’ll explore the best ways of getting to Etihad stadium and compare each option to help you find the one that suits you best.

Etihad Campus Metrolink Tram: The Fastest Way to Get to Man City

The stadium has its own stop on Manchester’s Metrolink tram network. The Etihad Campus stop opened in 2013 with the completion of the East Manchester Line.

This stop has spacious platforms to handle crowds, as well as swift links to the heart of Manchester via the following services:

Ashton-under-Lyne to Eccles (Daily)
MediaCityUK to Etihad Campus (Mon-Sat peak hours)
Altrincham to Etihad Campus (Mon-Sat off-peak and all-day Sundays)

To cope with the additional ridership there are extra services on Manchester City matchdays.

Man City Metrolink Travel Times

From Manchester Piccadilly it will take just 6 minutes (stop to stop) to get to Etihad Campus.

Located on the south-east side of the city centre, that station is just three stops away on the Ashton-under-Lyne to Eccles line.

From a more central location like St Peter’s Square, the journey takes about 12 minutes.

Metrolink Tram Price for the Etihad

The price of an adult ticket from Manchester Piccadilly to the Etihad Campus is as follows:

Single: £2.80
Return/1-Day Travelcard: £3.50

Catch a rare sunny day in Manchester and it might just be worth walking all the way to the stadium. We’ll explain next:

Walking to Etihad Stadium: The Free Option for Man City Matchdays

Unlike, say, Old Trafford, Etihad Stadium is within reasonable walking distance of Manchester city centre.

Leading through Ancoats and New Islington is the CityLink path, which was originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

An Easy Amble to the Man City Match

This route is safe, with ample lighting, no steps, and wide pavements along Pollard Street and Merrill Street (A662) to accommodate the elevated foot traffic on Man City matchdays.

At a little more than a mile (1.4), the walk will take between 30 and 40 minutes at a leisurely pace. If you need to speed up or want a rest, you can simply hop on the tram at New Islington or Holt Town, with both stops just off the A662.

In 2024, Manchester City announced plans to improve the CityLink path with interactive installations, street performers and pop-up food and drink vendors.

If you would rather take public transport, Manchester’s Bee Network buses are cheap and reliable.

Getting to the Etihad Stadium by Bus: An Affordable Alternative

Another public transport option for the Etihad Stadium is Manchester’s Bee Network bus system. There are three main services from the central bus station at Piccadilly Gardens to the stadium these are:

Along with walking or catching the tram, the bus is another cheap and easy way to get to Etihad Stadium. Tickets cost just £2 for an adult single, while a 1-Day Bee AnyBus ticket costs £5.

The Bee Bus is especially handy if you want to arrive early, as the roads do clog up a little as kick-off approaches. When the roads are clear you can make the journey in less than 15 minutes, and this can double immediately before and after the match.

Manchester City Matchday Bus Network

In the last few years Manchester City has teamed up with Transport for Greater Manchester to set up a comprehensive network of matchday buses.

In 2024-25 these services encompass more of the Manchester region than ever, with 15 routes and 64 stops, including Macclesfield, Oldham, Altrincham, Bury, Stockport, Sale Moor, Hyde, Flixton and many more.

Manchester City Matchday Bus Network Prices

Adult Return from Zone 1: £6
Adult Return from Zone 2: £8
Single Tickets from Zone 1: £3
Single Ticket from Zone 2: £4

U16s travel half price and u5s travel for free.

Catching the Coach to Manchester for Man City Matches

If you’re travelling to a Man City game by long-distance coach you will probably arrive at Chorlton Street Coach Station. This station is served by Eurolines, National Express and High Peak services

Less than 500 metres from Manchester Piccadilly, this centrally located hub is a short hop from the Etihad Campus on foot, by tram or bus.

Meanwhile Megabus services will stop at Shudehill Interchange. Again, this location is easily walkable, or you can catch the tram or bus, adding about ten minutes onto your journey time

Many fans will arrive in Manchester by train, so next we’ll explain how to get to the ground from the main transport hubs.

Etihad Stadium by Train: A Handy Guide

If you’re getting to Manchester on a long-distance train journey you will most likely arrive at Manchester Piccadilly. Again this makes the Etihad Stadium ultra convenient, with a choice of easy connections.

The other main stations in the city are:

Manchester Victoria: With connections across Northern England including Newcastle, Leeds, Blackburn, and Liverpool
Manchester Oxford Road: Linking with towns and cities across the North West and North Wales, but also Crewe, Nottingham, Peterborough and Norwich via eastbound trains

Both of these stations are on the Metrolink Network:

Etihad Stadium is closest to Manchester Victoria. A tram from there will take 17 minutes on the Blue Line, stop to stop.

If you’re heading from Oxford Road it’s faster if you get a train to Manchester Piccadilly and change there.

What is the Nearest Train Station to Etihad Stadium?

Ashburys Station is about a mile south of the Etihad Campus, and can be reached on foot in about 20 minutes.

Westbound trains on the Hope Valley Line and Glossop Line stop here before calling at Manchester Piccadilly.

Of course, you could always get to the ground by car. This comes with benefits and drawbacks, as we’ll explain.

Driving To Etihad Stadium: What You Need to Know

If you’re heading to the Manchester City match by car, it’s worth remembering that the high volume of traffic around the Etihad Stadium on matchdays will cause delays.

Passing by the Etihad Campus to the east, Alan Turing Way A6010 is prone to severe delays of up to 30 minutes in the hour before and after a Man City game.

Other key Manchester arteries affected are:

Hyde Road (heading east) with delays of 15+ minutes
Mancunian Way (heading west) where you’ll need to add 10 minutes onto your journey time

Leaving Etihad Stadium by Car

After full-time the roads immediately around the Etihad Campus will be closed to road traffic for up to half an hour to allow as many Man City fans as possible to get away from the stadium on foot.

These roads are:

Merrill Street from Pollard Street to Ashton New Road
Ashton New Road from Alan Turing Way to Darley Street
Grey Mare Lane from Ashton New Road to Alan Turing Way

Road closures naturally lead to jams leaving the Etihad Campus, and should be factored into your journey time. These may be more of an issue if you get match tickets for Manchester City vs Manchester United, involving a lot of local fans.

Cost of Parking at The Etihad on Matchdays

A parking space at the Etihad costs £14 for solo drivers and £12 if there are two or more passengers in the vehicle.

You can buy a space with Etihad Stadium match tickets as soon as the match date and kick-off time are confirmed (about five weeks before a match).

Available on a first come, first served basis parking spaces at the Etihad are prioritised for Man City Season Ticket Members and will usually sell out before going on general sale.

So, if you have to drive into Manchester but can’t get a parking space in an Etihad car park, there are thousands of spaces in the city centre, notably at Booth Street West car park at The University of Manchester.

From there you could walk it to the Etihad, or catch a Metrolink tram or Bee Network bus.

Park and Ride Options for Man City

As the roads around the Etihad Stadium can be prone to gridlock and closures on matchdays, a park and ride may be the best place to park for Etihad Stadium.

There are 24 park and ride sites throughout Greater Manchester, all hooked up to Metrolink tram routes and offering completely free car parking near Etihad.

One way to make park and ride an easy alternative to driving is to pick a stop on the same line, for a direct ride.

These are the sites on the Eccles and Ashton lines, with journey times and total parking spaces (including disabled spaces):

Ashton Moss: 20 minutes, with 195 spaces (12 disabled)
Ashton West: 25 minutes, with 195 spaces (11 disabled)
Ladywell: 43 minutes, with 354 spaces (22 disabled)

Getting a Taxi to the Etihad

Taking into account traffic around the stadium on matchdays, a taxi or rideshare trip from Manchester City centre to the Etihad will take about 15 minutes and will cost about £11.

To save money and time you could always get a bike. Let’s look into this option below.

Cycling to Manchester City Matches: Easier than You Might Think

For a few reasons, cycling has become a sensible way to get to the Etihad Stadium on matchdays.

For one thing you can get there without having to deal with much traffic by taking the tow path next to the Ashton Canal, which starts a few steps from Manchester Piccadilly and bends around the north end of the Etihad Campus.

While it’s sensible to stay off the larger A-roads, local roads around the ground, like Ashton New Road and Merrill Street feature designed bike lanes.

Once you arrive, Manchester City has a few bike storage spots. These can be found outside the East and West Stands, as well as on Joe Mercer Way. The largest bike parking facility of all is below the Nexen Tyre Bridge on Ashton New Road.

Beryl Bikeshare for Etihad Campus

You don’t even need your own bike to get to Etihad Stadium for the Man City match. The citywide Beryl Bikeshare network has 11 stations in the vicinity of Manchester Piccadilly, and more than 50 in Manchester city centre.

There are also three stations by the Etihad. They are all on the south-west side of the ground and offer a total of 45 docks.

Here’s the cost of a Beryl bike:

E-Bikes: £1 to unlock and 10p per minute
Pedal Bikes: £50p to unlock and 5p per minute

When you consider that you can make the journey in ten minutes flat from the city centre, a bicycle could be the cheapest way to get to the Etihad Stadium.

Overseas fans will get to Manchester from the airport, and we’ll look at the connections in the following section.

Manchester Airport: Flying to Manchester City Matches

With three passenger terminals and more than 50 airlines, Manchester Airport (MAN) is the third busiest airport in the UK. Once again the Etihad Campus is in a handy location for people arriving in Manchester by air, at 11.2 miles away.

Although the airport is on the Metrolink Tram network, it’s faster to catch the train. Several National Rail operators including the TransPennine Express and Northern Rail offer services to Manchester Piccadilly.

The journey takes as little as 13 minutes and an adult single costs just £2.60.

Catching the Tram from Manchester Airport to Etihad Campus

Using the Navy Line and Blue Line it is possible to get the tram all of the way to Etihad Campus. One benefit is that you only have to make one change, at Deansgate-Castlefield, but the journey will require more than an hour and some 25 stops.

How Much is a Taxi from Manchester Airport to Etihad Stadium?

You could expect to pay as much as £50 if you get a taxi or rideshare service to the Man City Game. The ten-mile journey will take about 30 minutes, but there may be delays on matchdays.

In this section we’ll size up a few different modes of transport depending on what you need from your Manchester City matchday.

What is the Best Way to Get to the Etihad Stadium?

For Accessibility

The Metrolink tram system is as modern as they come, and offers a host of accessibility features:

Every tram has a space for wheelchairs, as well as labelled seats for people who have trouble standing
Every station offers step-free access, tactile edges for the visually impaired and an escalator, lift or ramp

For Families with Younger Children

With parking discounts for Etihad Stadium tickets with multiple passengers, it’s best to drive and act fast to book a space before they sell out.

For Price

Nothing beats walking. With improvements afoot, the path from the city centre to the Etihad Campus is only going to get better too.

For Quick Getaways from the Etihad

Try using the Beryl app to see if there are bikes at the stations at the Etihad. You could be in a pub in Manchester city centre while other 3 O’Clock kick-offs are still in injury time.

If You Have a Train to Catch

Try the Metrolink tram. The tram platform at Manchester Piccadilly is integrated with the rest of the station, for swift transfers.

Next we’ll address a few questions that come up about getting to the Etihad Stadium.

Etihad Stadium Transport FAQs

What Tram Zone is the Etihad?

This adds a little to the ticket price if you’re travelling from Manchester City Centre, which is Zone 1.

How Far from the City Centre is the Etihad?

About 1.5 miles.

Is the Manchester Tram 24/7?

No. It runs from 06:00 AM to 12:00 AM Monday to Saturday, and 07:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Sundays.

Where Can I Park for Free at Etihad Stadium?

Use a park and ride site for free parking, or be prepared to pay a few pounds to park around the Etihad. One cheaper alternative to the Etihad car parks is Piccadilly Station (£7 a day).

What Street is Etihad Stadium on?

Ashton New Road (A662) passes by the south side of the stadium, while Alan Turing Road is on the east side.

Can You Use a Train Ticket on Manchester Trams?

Yes, but only if you specify Metrolink 'City Zone (CTLZ) as the destination when you make the purchase. This ticket is only valid for Zone 1, while Etihad Campus is just in Zone 2.

How Much is It from Manchester Airport to Etihad Stadium

£2.80 is the cheapest price, if you get the train and then go on foot from Piccadilly.

What Metro Station is Closest to Etihad Stadium?

Etihad Campus. It’s on the north side of the stadium, less than two minutes on foot.

Your Man City Matchday Trip Summed Up

So we’ve come to the end of the line, so to speak. But before we go, we’ll leave you with a table comparing methods of transport to the Etihad Stadium from Manchester Piccadilly.

Mode of Transport	Total Price (£)	Estimated Journey Time (Minutes)
Tram	2.80	10
Bus	2	25
Car	14.50	20
Taxi or Rideshare	11	15
Beryl Bikeshare Pedal Bike	1.10	15
Walking	0	33

Each journey is a single trip from Manchester Piccadilly, taking into account traffic congestion around the Etihad within an hour of kick-off. Approximate calculations are made for parking, fuel, transfers, queues, waiting times and traffic.

If you’re still hunting for Manchester City match tickets, Ticket Compare is the place to go. We compare prices from a select group of trusted secondary vendors, as well as official hospitality resellers.

So with that, you’ve got your tickets and your transport sorted. All that’s left is to have an amazing time at the City match.

Getting to Etihad Stadium