Manchester Stadium

The City of Manchester Stadium was built as a venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games after which it became the home of the Manchester City Football Club. The stadium has a seating capacity of 38,000 for the athletic games, and then converts to seat 50,000 for football. The roof is supported by pre-stressed cable nets and fully covers spectator areas for the football configuration.

Wind tunnel tests on a 1:400 scale model of the stadium were conducted to determine the following:

• Wind loads for the structural design of the rafters supporting the roof
• Wind loads of the design of the exterior envelope of the stadium (cladding)
• The wind environment around the stadium in terms of pedestrian comfort and safety

Wind tunnel test and the analyses examined both the football and athletic configurations of the roof.