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
Arc'teryx Introduces System 0™, a New Framework for the Future of Product Design and Circularity26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Arc'teryx Equipment, the global design company specializing in technical high-performance apparel and equipment, today introduced System 0™, a new framework that reimagines how products can be designed, manufactured, used, repaired, and ultimately regenerated. System 0 represents the next evolution for sustainability in the outdoor industry, as it embeds circular thinking across an entire product lifecycle while maintaining the uncompromising performance standards that define the Arc’teryx brand. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826686539/en/ Arc’teryx athlete, Craig Murray, wearing the Sperro SV, a multisport mountain-grade hardshell built with circular design principles, available September 4, 2026. The first product being introduced as part of the System 0 platform is the Sperro SV jacket, a multisport mountain-grade hardshell engineered for durability, repairability, and disassembly at end of life – the
Xsolla Announces Five-Year Partnership With the Global Esports Federation26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a global commerce company, today announced a landmark five-year strategic partnership with the Global Esports Federation (GEF), the world-convening body for esports. As GEF's exclusive partner for commerce, payments, wallet, loyalty, and distribution, Xsolla will power the entire GEF ecosystem, including the flagship Global Esports Games, pro-series Global Esports Tour, global GEFcon, and 180+ Member Federations across five continents. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826948844/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The announcement comes as GEF marks 100 days to go to the Los Angeles 2026 Global Esports Games (GEGLA26), adding further momentum to the road to Los Angeles and GEF’s flagship global esports celebration this December. The partnership launches at the GEGLA26, where Xsolla will begin serving as the unified commerce and payments layer for the GEF ecosystem. Across GEF properties, in more than 200 markets, Xso
FlightSafety International Reaches Agreement to Acquire Acron Technologies’ Commercial Training Solutions26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI), a leading global provider of aviation training and simulation technology, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Acron Technologies, a portfolio company of TJC LP, to acquire its Commercial Training Solutions (CTS) business, including its Training Systems, Training Services, Aviation Academy, and Driver Training portfolio. The agreement marks a significant expansion of FSI’s capabilities in the commercial aviation market, broadening and complementing its simulator manufacturing capabilities and global training footprint. CTS brings over eight decades of experience in commercial aviation training and simulation. With a long-standing heritage in commercial airline simulator manufacturing, CTS has delivered more than 850 training devices throughout its history, with over 300 full-flight simulators currently in operation worldwide today. Its training and manufacturing locations across the U.S., U.K., and Thailand support pilot and d
NABEP Appoints Sara Chouraqui as General Counsel26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) has appointed Sara Chouraqui as General Counsel, with Elizabeth Collery and Victoria Jacobson each joining as Deputy General Counsel. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826168543/en/ Sara Chouraqui joins NABEP as its General Counsel, bringing decades of legal expertise. These additions significantly strengthen NABEP’s senior leadership team and legal expertise as the company improves its operations, increases production and develops new strategic and commercial partnerships. As General Counsel, Chouraqui will lead NABEP’s global legal function and advise the company’s leadership on its legal, regulatory and corporate priorities, including major transactions and partnerships, governance, compliance and the management of legal and regulatory risk across the company’s operations. Her experience navigating complex cross-border legal and regulatory matters will be particu
Grafana Labs Crosses 10,000-Customer Milestone as AI Adoption Accelerates Growth Across the Platform26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Grafana Labs, the company behind the open observability cloud, today announced it has crossed 10,000 customers worldwide and surpassed $600 million in annual recurring revenue, as organizations standardize on open observability for the AI era. Teams need AI to help them understand their own systems faster, especially as complexity and overhead remain the top observability concern cited in Grafana Labs' 2026 Observability Survey – a need reflected by the adoption of Grafana Assistant, Grafana Cloud's context-aware AI agent for exploring and troubleshooting observability data, now used by more than 18,000 organizations. Teams also need observability purpose-built for AI systems themselves: When teams move AI into production, models drift, agents take unexpected actions, token costs spike without warning, and the latency and error signals that caught problems for the last decade don't explain what went wrong. The same survey found 57% of organizations are now implementing LLM observabilit
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