Man City stadium given Uefa
final
The City of Manchester Stadium has been selected to host the Uefa
Cup final in 2008 by Uefa's executive committee.
Manchester City have been playing in the stadium since August 2003
after it was used for the Commonwealth Games.
The new Wembley Stadium has been turned down in its bid to host the
Champions League final in either 2008 or 2009.
The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and the Stadio Olimpico in Rome will
host the 2008 and 2009 Uefa Champions League finals
respectively.
The 2009 Uefa Cup final will be played in the Sukru Saracoglu
Stadium in Istanbul.
A statement on the Uefa website said: "The committee decided after
assessing criteria such as stadium capacity, safety and security,
access, transport, supporters' facilities and commercial
potential."
The City of Manchester Stadium has already staged international
football with a Uefa Women's Championship game in 2005.
It has also staged a rugby league international and concerts by the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, and Oasis, as well as winning various
architectural awards.
Wembley could now be a contender for the 2010 Champions League
final.
Uefa communications director William Gaillard said: "We hope
Wembley Stadium in London will be completed in time for it to bid
for 2010 - and we will then seriously consider the venue for the
Uefa Champions League final."
At the same meeting, Uefa's executive committee decided to postpone
the vote on which country, or countries, will host Euro 2012.
A decision was due to be made in December 2006, but will now be
delayed until April 2007.
There are three bids to host Euro 2012, with Italy the only sole
nation and the other contenders being joint bids from Poland and
Ukraine, and Hungary and Croatia.