Featured image credit: Co-op Live
Co-op Live, Manchester’s new 23,500-capacity arena, will not open as scheduled tomorrow (Tuesday) due to issues relating to the venue’s power supply.
Comedian Peter Kay had been due to open the venue tomorrow, with a second event scheduled for Wednesday. These shows will now take place on April 29 and April 30.
The announcement this afternoon comes after the arena issued an apology after it was forced to reduce capacity for Saturday night’s test event featuring Rick Astley at short notice.
Around 11,000 guests had been expected to attend Saturday night’s gig. Co-op Live did not confirm how many tickets were cancelled but the Manchester Evening News has reported that attendance was cut to 4,000, with many fans finding out just hours before the show was due to start.
According to the MEN, issues relating to fire safety and emergency services communications systems led to the capacity reduction.
Co-op Live has now confirmed that the completion of its power supply installation is a “few days behind”, and it is hoped that rescheduling the Peter Kay shows will give the arena the extra time needed to continue testing thoroughly.
All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase, with refunds available for those who can no longer attend.
Any guests who had their tickets cancelled for Saturday’s Rick Astley show have been invited to The Black Keys’ concert at the arena this coming Saturday. This event is still scheduled to go ahead as planned, with 10,000 fans in the lower bowl of the arena.
Co-op Live is a joint venture between Oak View Group and City Football Group, the parent company of Manchester City. It will form part of the Etihad Campus, which houses City’s Etihad Stadium.
The arena has been built at a cost of £365m (€423m/$451m). The venue had been due to stage its first event in 2023, but last June the opening date was pushed back to April 2024.
Last month, Co-op Live teamed up with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to aid travel to the arena during its opening season of events, with travel on Metrolink and new city centre shuttle buses set to be included in all arena event tickets during the first two months of operation.
Other acts set to perform at Co-op Live in the coming weeks and months include Olivia Rodrigo, Take That, Nicki Minaj, Eagles, Pet Shop Boys, Liam Gallagher and The Killers.
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