ABSTRACT
For several reasons, Manchester is an interesting case in the context of sports and city marketing. In the first place, this industrial city is known all over the world as the home base of one of the most famous football teams: Manchester United. Although the club’s stadium is actually located outside the city borders (in the borough of Trafford), United is largely responsible for the sports image of the city. The second football club, Manchester City, is also worth analysing, because it is located within the city borders and has a very good relationship with the City Council. Secondly, the city has gained a lot o f experience in bidding for and organising big events, such as the Olympic Games (two bids without success), the Commonwealth Games (to be staged in 2002) and the European Football Championships (1996). The bidding processes have proved to be very valuable for the city. Thirdly, Manchester actively uses sports as a lever for city marketing, not only in terms of promotion but also in terms of social and economic revitalisation. Indeed, Marketing Manchester, the body responsible for marketing the city, explicitly aims to use sports as a tool for city marketing (Phelan, 1997). Furthermore, the city pays much attention to the legacy of events and the participation of youngsters in sports. Finally, the metropolitan region of Manchester shows a clear concentration of sports-related industries, which can also be interesting from a marketing point of view.
