This year also marks 100 years since City moved into their historic former ground
Twenty years ago this month, Manchester City played their final game at Maine Road.
Almost 35,000 people squeezed into the ground on May 11, 2003, to bid an emotional farewell to the club’s home of 80 years.
This year also marks 100 years since the Blues first moved into Maine Road in 1923. In the eight decades that followed, the historic ground was the scene of many highs – as well as plenty of lows.
READ MORE: ‘My dad Lee Rigby was murdered when I was two – now I want to honour his memory’
Although City were beaten 1-0 by visitors Southampton in the final match, the result took second place to the emotional farewell party. Few in the crowd that day could have predicted what the next two decades would have in store for their club.
After leaving Maine Road, the Blues moved to the City of Manchester Stadium, which had been built for the previous year’s Commonwealth Games.
The ground was later renamed the Etihad Stadium and has hosted an extraordinary level of success for the Blues in recent years. Yet Maine Road is fondly missed and still holds a special place in the heart of many fans.
These pictures capture the ground in all of its glory.
