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
BeOne Medicines Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Business Updates6.5.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
BeOne Medicines Ltd. (NASDAQ: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced financial results and corporate updates from the first quarter of 2026. John V. Oyler, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, BeOne, said: “These strong first-quarter results reinforce BeOne’s continued growth as a global oncology leader, driven by disciplined commercial execution, and underpinned by our established hematology leadership, and an impressive, rapidly emerging solid tumor pipeline. The sustained competitive advantages of our global superhighway for clinical development and manufacturing are now clear. BRUKINSA has firmly established itself as the foundational, best-in-class BTK inhibitor with unmatched long-term efficacy and safety data for the treatment of CLL and as the only BTKi with proven efficacy superiority over ibrutinib which has resulted in clear global revenue leadership. The fixed-duration combination of sonrotoclax, a foundational, next-generation BCL2 inhibitor,
59% of Organizations Made a "Bad AI Hire" in the Past Year, New TestGorilla Research Reveals6.5.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
TestGorilla, the leading skills-based hiring platform, today released The State of Hiring for AI Fluency, revealing a fundamental shift in talent evaluation: AI fluency has overtaken domain expertise as the top hiring priority. 53% of hiring managers now prefer candidates with strong AI fluency over deep subject matter experts. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506155219/en/ TestGorilla's The State of Hiring for AI Fluency Report Reveals a Transatlantic Divide between US and UK: Study of nearly 2,000 senior hiring leaders finds 53% now prioritize AI fluency over domain expertise, but a critical gap between definitions and measurement is producing confident wrong hires on both sides of the Atlantic But ambition is outpacing reality. Although 72% of UK and 71% of US organizations have formally defined AI fluency, and nearly all list it as a hiring requirement, 59% across both markets still made a bad AI hire in
Type One Energy, Tokamak Energy, and AECOM Form the UK Infinity Fusion Consortium to Accelerate Development of a Commercial Fusion Power Plant in the United Kingdom6.5.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Type One Energy, Tokamak Energy, and AECOM today announced the UK Infinity Fusion Consortium to pursue development of the first private-sector-led fusion power plant project in the United Kingdom. Together, the companies intend to develop a fusion project that is commercially credible, deployable using existing enabling technologies, and capable of attracting private capital — consistent with the long-term goals of the government’s recently announced UK Fusion Strategy. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506129586/en/ (From left to right) Warrick Matthews, CEO of Tokamak Energy; Chris Mowry, CEO of Type One Energy; and Troy Rudd, Chairman and CEO of AECOM sign the UK Infinity Fusion Consortium during His Majesty King Charles III’s visit to New York City. This announcement comes at a time of increasing U.S.-U.K. bilateral cooperation on fusion. His Majesty King Charles III said during his address to the United
Thredd and Currensea Expand Strategic Partnership to Power Next Phase of Growth6.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Thredd, the AI-first issuer processing platform, today announced the renewal and extension of its longstanding partnership with Currensea, the market-leading payments technology platform. The new agreement extends the relationship for an additional four years, reinforcing a collaboration that has been in place since 2019. Currensea has built a strong reputation among travellers with its multi-bank travel card that links directly to customers’ existing bank accounts, offering competitive FX rates without the need to preload funds. In recent years, Currensea has expanded its offering through co-brand partnerships with leading global travel and hospitality brands, including Hilton Hotels, Marriott Bonvoy and United Airlines, allowing cardholders to earn competitive rewards on their day-to-day debit spending. Thredd provides the issuer processing and core programme infrastructure underpinning Currensea’s debit card offering, supporting both physical and virtual cards, tokenisation, digital
Pure Energie Selects Kraken to Manage Wind, Solar and Storage6.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Pure Energie, a Dutch clean energy company, has selected Kraken – the AI-powered operating system transforming global utilities – to manage and optimize its consumer, wind, solar and battery portfolio across the Netherlands. Kraken brings together grid-scale assets and consumer demand on the same platform, co-ordinating them as a single, intelligent portfolio. This enables Pure Energie to optimize demand and generation in real time – maximizing asset value and helping reduce imbalance costs. The partnership will deliver an energy management system which includes retail balancing, day-ahead curtailment, intraday trading, imbalance optimization, and ancillary market access, alongside Kraken’s suite of advanced data and alerts services. Kraken has integrated with Dutch TSO TenneT, as well as Pure Energie’s existing technology to ensure seamless, secure market access in the Netherlands and across Kraken's international footprint. As wind and battery capacity grows in the Netherlands, grid
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