The University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) has announced a new long-term lease that will transform ground floor office space at Piccadilly Place into a thriving study hub for UCFB Etihad Campus students in the heart of Manchester city centre.
The new offering will host a large study space, world-class IT facilities and library, as well as a high-tech sports lab and media broadcast studios, enriching the student experience for those studying UCFB’s innovative football and sports degrees.
Since opening in 2016, UCFB Etihad Campus has seen rapid growth with over 1,000 students now studying its predominantly football-focussed undergraduate and postgraduate university education from its state-of-the-art campus, with Etihad Stadium at its heart.
Adjacent to Manchester Piccadilly train station and Metrolink interchange, the new Piccadilly Place study hub is a perfect complement to the existing campus which includes seminar rooms and lecture theatres inside Etihad Stadium and Belle Vue Sports Village, as well as access to a range of the sporting venues that students benefit from across the Etihad Campus.
Construction of UCFB’s contemporary student space at Piccadilly Place has now begun and will be completed ahead of the 2019/20 academic year.
It also comes after UCFB last month announced stadium partnerships in the USA, Canada and Australia where it will create four UCFB Global Study Hubs, giving its students and graduates the chance to visit some of the greatest venues in world sport including New York City’s Red Bull Arena, Atlanta’s new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Toronto FC’s BMO Field and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Brendan Flood, UCFB Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “This is a landmark moment for UCFB’s growth in Manchester. We are delighted with the addition of these brilliant facilities at Piccadilly Place for our students, adding another dimension to UCFB Etihad Campus on top of the unique opportunity to learn with us inside Etihad Stadium.
“The Piccadilly Place development will further enhance the student experience at UCFB in one of the world’s greatest sporting cities and we are proud to have worked closely with Property Alliance Group, Transport For Greater Manchester and Manchester City Council to make this long-term agreement a reality.”
Piccadilly Place is a mixed-use development by Property Alliance Group.
Commenting on the announcement, Alliance’s Head of Offices, Rob Peill, said: “We’re extremely excited about UCFB’s new study hub at Piccadilly Place. We’ve worked hard to ensure the right mix of occupiers for the development and we’re confident that UCFB will complement it well with its mix of students and staff members enhancing footfall and utilising everything that Piccadilly Place has to offer.”
