But the site was just 8 acres (32,000 m2) and an available lease of fifty years was deemed too short by the club,[6] so it was decided that City would move to Moss Side.

A City director, John Ayrton, resigned from the board later in the decade and helped to form a breakaway club, Manchester Central, which played at Belle Vue.

[2] The initial layout of the ground consisted of one covered stand with a seating capacity of 10,000, and uncovered terracing on the other three sides, with gentle curves connecting the corners.

[15] (A larger crowd of 121,919 attended the Crystal Palace ground when it hosted the 1913 FA Cup Final between Aston Villa and Sunderland.)

[17] The highest attendance for a league game at Maine Road occurred during this period, when 83,260 people watched Manchester United play Arsenal on 17 January 1948.

[18] Maine Road was also used by Manchester United to host three of their four home games in the 1956–57 European Cup, until floodlights were installed at Old Trafford as required by UEFA.

[4] In 1963, benches were installed at the Platt Lane end, meaning that Maine Road had more seats than any other English club ground at the time.

By 1990, some areas of the ground were becoming outdated, and there was the need for the stadium to become all-seater following the outcome of the Taylor Report in January that year, and the Platt Lane stand was demolished in 1992.

The era of standing accommodation at Maine Road came to an end in May 1994 as the stadium became all-seater to comply with the requirements of the Taylor Report, with the demolition of the Kippax Street Terrace, which, unusually for an all-standing area, was located at the side of the pitch instead of behind the goals.

[23] The new stand was an impressive modern facility, but it also emphasised the haphazard nature in which the ground had been redeveloped, as all four sides were of differing heights and construction styles.

There were plans for further expansion at Maine Road to take the capacity to an all-seated 45,000, but these were abandoned in favour of a move to the City of Manchester Stadium built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Sixty-six days later, Fóe died on 26 June from an undetected heart condition while representing the Cameroon national football team during the 2003 Confederations Cup.

[26] An auction of the ground's fixtures and fittings took place in July 2003, raising £100,000, which was donated to community projects in the Moss Side area, which was undergoing a lengthy regeneration process.

The first European match at the ground saw United thrash Belgian champions RSC Anderlecht 10–0 in the preliminary round, a competition record which stood for seventeen years.

[42] The stadium hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, David Cassidy, Dire Straits, Faith No More, Fleetwood Mac, Guns N' Roses, Jean Michel Jarre, Motörhead, The New Power Generation, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Prince, Queen, Soundgarden, The Rolling Stones, Simple Minds and Mavis Staples, among others.

The most high-profile concert held at Maine Road was that of Mancunian band Oasis (themselves avowed Manchester City fans) in April 1996, a performance which was later released as a video, ...There and Then.

In June 1961, the American Christian evangelist Billy Graham attracted over 100,000 people to the stadium, over the course of four nights, as part of his UK tour.

The club, who currently play in the North West Counties Football League Division One, was founded by a group of Manchester City supporters in 1955.