The club refused to confirm or deny the speculation but confirmation has come through today from UEFA and now it is official, Manchester City's first European home game of the 2008-2009 season will be played at Oakwell Stadium.
City's Eastlands stadium is unsuitable for the tie (Due to be played on July 16/17 or 30/31) due to summer events taking place there and City turned to Oakwell after police vetoed a move to Preston's Deepdale ground.
The draw for the game will take place on 1st July.
A statement from www.barnsleyfc.co.uk reads:
UEFA Cup football will come to Oakwell next month after Barnsley FC agreed to stage the first game in Manchester City's European adventure.
The Premier League side approached the Reds late last month to use Oakwell Stadium as an alternative venue for their opening UEFA Cup tie in order to give the pitch at Eastlands extra time to recover from a string of summer events. Official confirmation has today (Friday June 20) been received from UEFA that Oakwell Stadium meets its requirements to stage matches in the competition and the town can look forward to a historic night of European football next month.
The tie will be staged on either July 16/17 or July 30/31 depending on next month's draw. The draw for the UEFA Cup takes place on July 1.
The game will be new City manager Mark Hughes' first competitive test and, with the Premier League side targeting Brazilian superstars Ronaldinho and Jo this summer, it promises to be a memorable evening at Oakwell.
Following an assessment by UEFA, Oakwell Stadium has been categorised as Category Two under its regulations. This means the Reds able to stage Manchester City's matches in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup, England international matches in the Men's EURO U21, EURO U19 and EURO U17 as well as the Women's EURO and the Women's EURO U19 competitions, plus the UEFA Women's Cup, the UEFA Meridien Cup and the UEFA Regions Cup.
More Soon.