Ushered around a stadium at a lightning pace, rushed to get those glorious family pictures taken before being whisked away to the next section is usually the theme of the day with a football stadium tour, but those problems are a thing of the past with the brand new Manchester City VIP stadium tour.
For those who want to spend that little bit longer soaking up all the atmosphere that a stadium tour has to offer then the Manchester City VIP stadium tour will certainly tick all of those boxes.
Rather than 30-40 people on any tour at any given time, the VIP Stadium Tour condenses that number down to 10 people (maximum).
I had the honour of being one of the first people in the world to try out this new VIP Stadium Tour and on the day myself and a friend attended our tour group size was 3. Yes, three people plus our tour guide as we explored areas of the stadium that the standard tour doesn’t have access to.
The sheer flexibility of where we could go and what we could see was only matched by our wonderful tour guide Linda who had such a raw passion for the club and was eager to show us absolutely everything that the Etihad Stadium had to offer.
This all-access tour really felt like a VIP experience and if the access-all-areas feel the tour had wasn’t enough then sipping a glass of prosecco in one of the Premium hospitality boxes certainly hit that luxury feel home.
The VIP tour was an eye-opening experience especially when it came to viewing the punditry box. A place where famous faces from the world of football commentate on the games and I must say, I wasn’t expecting it to look like that. All the glitz and glamour of a Premier League game and the room, well, you’ll have to see it for yourselves.
Glancing down at the standard tour of around 30 people pitch-side whilst three of us were sipping champagne without a care in the world, not needing to rush, with all the time in the world more than justified the extra cost of the tour.
As soon as the large group had left the pitchside we had the away changing rooms, home changing rooms and the entire pitchside all to ourselves with absolutely no time limit or being told to hurry up at any given time. Simply take as many photos/videos as you like!
Linda even told us that if we wanted to spend a longer amount of time in on particular area then we could do so and we took full advantage of that when we were pitchside and in the home team dressing room.
No request was too big and Linda went out of her way to make us feel like VIPs.
A few years ago Manchester United invited me up to do their tour (you can read that review here) and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was a generic tour and whilst my review of it is incredibly positive it was a rushed tour in comparison to this one. There were no extra special perks, no all-access, just a bog-standard tour.
Manchester United did go the extra mile in giving me a free meal as a thank you for coming but this isn’t included in a standard tour (although you can upgrade to a standard tour + meal for £70).
Comparing the two clubs in terms of football on the pitch is night and day at the moment and if I was to compare the tours I’d say this was exactly the same with City being triumphant once again beating their rivals on this wonderful experience.
For £10 less than a standard tour + meal at United you can get this exclusive and quite luxurious tour + a glass of prosecco for £60.
The tour lasts for an hour longer than the standard Manchester City tour and once you’ve seen all the areas not on the normal tour you jump straight into the standard tour route so you don’t miss any of the normal ‘touristy’ things such as a virtual press conference with Pep, an indoor cinema experience and more.
Even if you’re not a Manchester City fan you can appreciate the sheer indulgence of this wonderfully tailored VIP experience.
As a Port Vale fan, I’ve had some great memories from the last time we visited the Etihad and Tom Pope scored a beautiful headed goal in the FA Cup to draw level with the champions. The first goal scored past them during the cup run and whilst the result inevitably ended with a City win it’s a memory that will stay in Vale fans’ hearts for eternity.
It’s safe to say that on my return and with this beautiful tour more memories have been made that will stay with me for a long, long time.
Thanks to Manchester City for having me down as one of the first people to experience the brand new VIP Stadium tour I documented my visit which you can check out below to give you a taster of what to expect.
Please note that all tours are completely different and I’ve left certain areas/experiences off the video so it doesn’t spoil the entire experience for anyone who wishes to experience it themselves.
