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Man City waiting for North Stand boost – but key question remains

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As it becomes clearer what the North Stand will look like once the expansion is completed, it is still far from apparent what it will sound like

At the beginning of the season, Manchester City would have been hoping to be able to call on extra fan power for their biggest games of the season. When finished, the North Stand expansion will add more than 7,000 seats and take the capacity above 60,000.

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It still isn’t clear when it will be finished though. Senior club officials were hopeful last year that it would be January but we are now more than a month past that; an FAQ on the club website says that it is ‘due to open before the end of the season, although a date has not yet been confirmed’.

Obviously it is better to be done properly than to be rushed, but it will be a shame if – as is looking likely – there is no extra boost in time for the two huge matches that are up in the next six weeks. With test events needed before it officially opens, Real Madrid in a fortnight looks out of the question and Arsenal in late April would be a stretch.

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But it is getting there. All the seats are in and the suggestion is that the covers may have been removed in time for the Nottingham Forest game on Wednesday, meaning completion is getting nearer.

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It is close enough for the question to be asked of what the new North Stand will sound like and how much of a boost it will give City and their manager, who regularly calls on the fans to help the team in the moments where they need them most. How much of an improvement will the improvement be?

That is something nobody can answer at the minute amid uncertainty over the makeup of the stand. Whether it comes before the end of this season or at the start of the next one, who will be sitting in the seats?

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, City’s chairman’ gave encouragement to the idea of a blue wall akin to Dortmund when he was asked about it years ago in his annual address with club media, and that gave hope to supporters who dreamed of a wall of noise. Supporters currently in the South Stand, the noisiest part of the ground, were open to moving across to have a whole stand behind the goal that was not interrupted by away fans.

Such talk of relocation has seemingly died down despite the confirmation of 3,000 rail seats for the top tier, and the announcement in May that there would be at least 4,000 new Flexi Gold tickets – with half ringfenced for Under-18s – certainly keeps the emphasis on family stand. Losing the next generation of supporters has been a major concern for fans in recent years so this was well received by fans who are keen to start taking their kids regularly to games.

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The top tier could be a natural home for the 500 fans being moved from their seats behind the goal to make way for a new hospitality space, especially given the evident difficulties in moving groups to other parts of the stadium that are already pretty full. However, even those able to move up two tiers will want it reflected in the pricing and may also want to know they are still sitting with loyal season ticket holders rather than people buying tickets as part of a hotel deal or from a third-party site.

City’s wish to make the Etihad Campus a tourist destination for every day of the year, it seems natural to think there will be some kind of relationship between the new hotel that is opening and that they own and the stadium. And more seats in general makes the club more vulnerable to third-party sites whether official and unofficial.

There’s also the issue of the new hospitality area behind the goal, City Hall. With season tickets coming in at around £2,600, is that really likely to attract fans who already go every week? The Tunnel Club is currently the most exclusive part of the ground and that is practically empty for five to 10 minutes at the start of each half as guests are pre-occupied with the service they are getting inside; to have empty seats behind the goal at the start of each half certainly wouldn’t help atmosphere.

City fans showed against Newcastle how good the atmosphere can be and have the opportunity to do so again in the Forest game, even if prices and ticket restrictions have been cut ahead of Wednesday’s game. Similarly, when the new North Stand opens fully it will undoubtedly make a difference in a stadium that has already helped to down some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

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It’s just that, as it becomes clear what it looks like, it still isn’t clear what it will sound like.

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Tom Kim’s outrageous TGL hole-in-one delivers dream ending

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Shakur Stevenson makes weight class decision that rules out major fights

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Shakur Stevenson has rejected the proposed terms for one particular fight, potentially distancing himself from several of his most lucrative options.

The 28-year-old is coming off arguably a career-best performance against Teofimo Lopez, claiming his WBO super-lightweight title with a dominant points victory in January.

In doing so, Stevenson not only became a four-division world champion but also cemented himself as a top five pound-for-pound operator, alongside the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue.

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Because of this, though, many have questioned whether the slick southpaw will ever be beaten, suggesting that a move up to 147lbs could be his only hope at finding a worthy challenge. Stevenson has said recently that he would do it so long as any opponent would sign a 10lbs rehydration clause.

If he decides to do just that, then most would regard WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney as his toughest test, though Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn have also been mentioned as possible options.

Immediately after his victory over Lopez, Stevenson came face to face with Benn, while Garcia called out the American following his WBC title triumph over Mario Barrios earlier this month.

For both potential fights, Stevenson has demanded a 144lb catchweight limit, to which Garcia verbally agreed ahead of his showdown with Barrios.

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Since then, though, the 27-year-old’s father and trainer, Henry Garcia, has insisted that Stevenson must come up to 147lbs, but the super-lightweight champion has told ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT that this is strictly out of the question.

“I think [Garcia is] serious. I think he [does] want the fight. I just think that everything gotta work well in the business, everything gotta make sense.

“Before the [Barrios] fight, I heard them saying they’ll fight me at 144[lbs]. Then, after the fight, I’m hearing 147[lbs].

“I’m not going up to 147 no time soon. I think that will be my last weight class that I’m in. I don’t think that, at 28 years old right now, I’m just going [to go] up to 147.”

Benn has not commented on a possible 144lb catchweight but, given that he is facing Regis Prograis at 150lbs on April 11, it would seem that, for him, such a request is hardly worth considering.

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If Stevenson is dead set against a full move to welterweight, it will also likely rule out a fight with Devin Haney, who has said he felt ‘a shell of himself’ at weights lower.

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Yall be scratched and beat tf up

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Rapper Doechii doubled down on her anti-cat comments on social media, stirring the ire of cat lovers by claiming that the felines are not friendly animals and don’t want to be domesticated. The Grammy-winning rapper’s comments came via her Threads account on March 2, where she shared her thoughts about people owning cats as pets.

She further suggested that it was very rare for cats to be “immediately lovely without years of pain and work put in,” adding:

“People act like it’s a crime to dislike cats when they genuinely aren’t friendly animals. They don’t wanna be domestic just leave em alone! Like it’s not organic I’m sorrryyy be fr it’s rare that cats are immediately lovey without years of pain and work put in. Yall be scratched and beat tf up by your own animals I can’t lmaooo.”

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Doechii‘s comments garnered immense backlash, prompting her to stand her ground as she responded to various comments under her initial post. She posted a video of Tiffany Pollard saying, “You hating a** b***h, all fraudulent,” to the audience on Flavor of Love in 2006, captioning it, “Me vs Cat owners.”

According to Complex, the rapper hit back at various criticisms under her post. When one commentator indicated that maybe cats didn’t like her, she responded, “It’s mutual.” Meanwhile, another person claimed the rapper had responded to all comments trying to educate her about cats with “passive aggressive bulls**t,” suggesting she had “pure disdain” for the creatures.

The rapper replied that the user was getting “TOO worked up” over the issue, adding, “The world will be fine if Doechii thinks cats are mean.” Another user accused her of spreading common misconceptions surrounding cats to justify her dislike for the felines, resulting in the Denial Is A River rapper replying with:

“I did! And they aren’t misconceptions these are most definitely true and happen errday you CANNOT trick me. If i tell a cat owner to lift they arm sleeve rn they’ll be tore up.”


Doechii recently won her second Grammy

Doechii picked up her second Grammy after her hit song Anxiety won Best Music Video at the prestigious music awards ceremony on February 1, 2026. This is her second Grammy win. In 2025, the rapper made history by becoming one of three women to win Best Rap Album for her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, following Laryn Hill and Cardi B.

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“I don’t want to make this long. But this category was introduced in 1989, and two women have won. Lauryn Hill—three women have won. Lauryn Hill, Cardi B, and Doechii. I put my heart and my soul into this mixtape. I bared my life. I went through so much. I dedicated myself to sobriety, and God told me that I would be rewarded and that he would show me just how good it can get. I have to thank God,” Doechii said in her acceptance speech.

She further encouraged Black girls and Black women watching her that anything was possible, telling them not to bow down to stereotypes such as “you can’t be here, that you’re too dark, or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic, or you’re too loud.”


Doechii’s Anxiety was nominated in four other categories at the 2026 Grammys, including Song of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Record of the Year. Song of the Year went to Billie Eilish’s Wildflower, while Record of the Year was won by Kendrick Lamar‘s Luther, featuring SZA. Lamar also won Best Rap Song for TV Off from his 2024 album GNX.