ASM Global’s AO Arena in Manchester Unveils Dramatic Multimillion Dollar Three-Year Reimagination of Legendary Venue
27.4.2022 20:05:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
ASM Global, the world’s leading producer of entertainment experiences, venue management and event strategy, has announced a $63 million plan beginning this summer to transform the AO Arena in Manchester. This plan is set to dramatically enhance the venue’s premier position for live entertainment experiences through state-of-the-art infrastructure expansion and innovative guest features as the iconic arena looks to the future.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220427005883/en/
AO Arena, Manchester (Photo: Business Wire)
AO Arena in Manchester, located in the heart of the city, is one of the busiest indoor arenas in the world. Through its near 30-year history, the venue has firmly established itself as a beloved and iconic Manchester landmark, a must-play for artists, and a fan-favorite destination for world-class live entertainment. Officials from the AO Arena will be releasing more detailed plans in coming months.
Chris Bray, EVP Europe at ASM Global, said, “AO Arena is one of the world’s iconic venues and a much-loved part of Manchester’s rich culture and history. It has been delivering world-class entertainment experiences for over two decades. As we approach our 30th anniversary, this ambitious endeavor will not only reinforce its position as a leading destination for live entertainment but will extend its market leadership for ‘live’ and fan experiences for the next 30 years. We’re proud to be further investing into the heart of Manchester.
“The first phase will enhance and increase our standing floor capacity to share this historic arena with even more of our guests, and we will also be adding new hospitality lounges and investing in delivering an upgraded concourse experience. Our performers will be immersed in an all-new, back-of-house artists’ campus, unparalleled anywhere.”
Additional major developments include new arena entrances welcoming guests to the venue and new premium seating, which will transform the venue to an elevated experience.
AO Arena’s back-of-house campus dramatic upgrade will include a complete overhaul of the backstage experience for artists, production and crew. This includes new artist dressing rooms and production areas, a world-class green room with meet-and-greet facilities, an overhaul of crew catering, and first-class connectivity and technology.
Plans have already been jump started by the venue’s rapid scheduling of major sell-out 2022 events, including Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Diana Ross, Alicia Keys, Swedish House Mafia, Snoop Dogg, George Ezra and more.
Jen Mitchell, general manager at the AO Arena, said, “This is a really exciting time for AO Arena. Not only are we able to welcome guests back after a challenging two years with a program packed full of world-class acts and entertainment, now we can reveal the first phase of ASM Global’s plans for the arena’s redevelopment. This will enhance the experience for everyone who sets foot in the venue, including artists, production, crew and our staff who work so hard to make the magic happen right here in Manchester.”
Unveiled in 1995, the arena was the first indoor venue in the U.K. to be built with a layout of 360-degree seating. Attracting over 1 million visitors yearly, the 21,000-capacity arena is a winner of the Stadium Business Awards’ prestigious ‘Venue of the Year’ award. There has been a host of musical talent that has performed at the venue, from Led Zeppelin legends Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones and Pavarotti to Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga as well as Manchester’s homegrown artists including Take That, Oasis, Elbow, New Order and The Courteeners. The venue has hosted everything from the 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2008 FINA World Swimming Championships and international boxing bouts by Mike Tyson, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, David Haye, Joe Calzaghe and local champions Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan and Anthony Crolla.
About ASM Global
ASM Global is the world’s leading producer of entertainment experiences. It is the global leader in venue and event strategy and management—delivering locally tailored solutions and cutting-edge technologies to achieve maximum results for venue owners. The company’s elite venue network spans five continents, with a portfolio of more than 350 of the world’s most prestigious arenas, stadiums, convention and exhibition centers, and performing arts venues. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. asmglobal.com
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220427005883/en/
Contact information
Jim Yeager
breakwhitelight (for ASM Global)
jim@breakwhitelight.com
Mobile: 1-818-264-6812
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
74% of Shoppers Use AI for Discovery—NIQ Showcases What That Means for the Consumer Purchase Journey in New Report27.8.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
Consumers are increasingly turning to new technologies to help navigate a more complex shopping landscape. Nearly three-quarters of shoppers now use AI for product discovery, while retail media has grown into a $184 billion global market. Together, these shifts are reshaping how products are discovered, evaluated, and ultimately purchased. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827177247/en/ AI is becoming the new gatekeeper of product discovery. NIQ has released A Tale of Two Consumers: The Polarized Mindsets Reshaping Global Consumption, a new global report in collaboration with World Data Lab showing how artificial intelligence, retail media networks, and social commerce are transforming the path to purchase and influencing which products consumers ultimately buy. The findings build on NIQ's recently released The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West, which identified the convergence of Eastern commerce in
Ant International Joins Hong Kong Regulators’ GenA.I. Sandbox++ to Advance Bank Liquidity Management with AI27.8.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
Ant International’s Ant Bank, a digital bank based in Hong Kong, and Bettr, its inclusive embedded financial solutions provider, have been selected to participate in Hong Kong regulators’ GenA.I. Sandbox++, focusing on the liquidity risk management track. Ant Bank will leverage Ant International's Falcon Time-Series Transformer (TST) AI Model 2.0 to enhance its FX and liquidity management capabilities. The partnership will deploy granular, statistically-grounded daily forecasts, to support more precise and proactive liquidity planning for the bank's real-time treasury management — strengthening its capabilities to support a 24/7 financial ecosystem. As Hong Kong's only digital bank deeply integrated with an e-wallet, Ant Bank aims to leverage technology to provide innovative, inclusive and customer-centric digital financial services. To enhance customer experience, the bank sought to integrate AI and LLM technology to improve the accuracy of its cashflow predictions — reflecting its cu
Ant International’s R2 Enters Brazil, Bringing Embedded Credit Technology to Serve SMBs and Gig Workers27.8.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
R2 today announced its expansion into Brazil, marking the company's entry into Latin America's largest economy. With the support of Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation and FinAI solutions provider, R2 will partner with digital platforms across Brazil to embed working capital solutions directly into the products their merchants and gig workers already use. For digital platforms, marketplaces, payment providers, ecommerce companies, and others serving SMBs and gig workers, R2 provides a proven embedded credit technology solution that enables them to offer financing to their users without building credit operations themselves, and without taking on credit risk. The result is a new revenue stream and a stronger value proposition for their merchant base. For the businesses and workers those platforms serve, it means access to working capital based on how they actually perform, not on documentation that most of them don't have. "Brazil is a defining milestone in
Samsung Display Elevates Gaming Immersion with QD-OLED at Gamescom 202627.8.2026 11:30:00 EEST | Press release
Samsung Display will showcase the gaming performance advantages of QD-OLED through collaborations with global game companies at gamescom 2026, the world’s largest gaming exhibition. The company also announced plans to begin mass production of 24.5-inch QD-OLED panels optimized for eSports and FPS games by the end of this year, underscoring its technology leadership in the gaming monitor market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827640374/en/ Visitors experiencing PRAGMATA on gaming monitors featuring Samsung Display’s QD-OLED at the CAPCOM booth during gamescom 2026 Highly anticipated titles from CAPCOM, KRAFTON and CD PROJEKT RED take the stage at gamescom with QD-OLED displays Samsung Display announced on August 27 that it will partner with global game companies including CAPCOM, KRAFTON, and CD PROJEKT RED at gamescom 2026, taking place in Cologne, Germany, from August 26 to 30. New and flagship titles fro
SCP Standard Capital Partners AG: VANEA Defence Unveils ATOMZA®, the First Production-Ready Drone Defence System for Civilian Operators27.8.2026 11:13:00 EEST | Press release
VANEA Defence today unveiled ATOMZA, the world’s first drone defence system designed for civilian deployment that can be operated by private organisations without sovereign enforcement powers. The system opens up a previously inaccessible market for active counter-UAS solutions, which until now have largely been restricted to public security authorities legally authorised to intervene against drones. ATOMZA will make its public debut at Drone Days in Bremen, Germany, on 27th and 28th August. A new category of civilian counter-UAS mitigation ATOMZA uses a non-kinetic optical effector that employs directed photonic radiation to disable a drone’s optical sensors without destroying the aircraft. This approach makes ATOMZA the first solution that can be deployed specifically to mitigate a drone threat without constituting an intervention requiring sovereign enforcement powers. While jammers, high-energy lasers and interceptor drones are legally restricted to authorised security authorities,
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom