Maine Road: Man City’s former home ground in 15 nostalgic pictures from the 1930s to the final match in 2003

As Manchester City are considering the possibility of making the Etihad Stadium bigger, ManchesterWorld has delved into the archives to take a look back at the club’s former ground.

The club moved into Maine Road, located in Moss Side, and played its first game there in 1923, remaining there until it waved farewell to the stadium after it hosted its last match eight decades later in 2003.

Built on the site of a former brickworks, the ground went through a whole array of changes in stands and capacities. In the 1930s the ground could hold the biggest numbers of spectators accommodated there, with an estimated capacity of around 88,000.

There were major redevelopments in the 1950s and the 1970s and further work had to be carried out in the 1990s, when the ground had to become all-seater to comply with the demands of the Taylor Report. One quirk from those days was the small temporary seating stand which was wedged into one corner of the stadium.

Plans were drawn up to expand Maine Road to around 45,000 seats, but these were eventually shelved in favour of the club moving to the stadium which was built for the Commonwealth Games, which became the Etihad. City played their final game at Maine Road in 2003. The ground was demolished in 2003 and 2004 over the course of around 10 months.

Here are 15 pictures which help tell the story of Maine Road through the decades.