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
Boomi Named a Leader and Secures Highest Score in the Strategy Category in Adaptive Process Orchestration Software Evaluation28.9.2026 18:45:00 EEST | Press release
Boomi™, the data activation company for AI, today announced it has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Adaptive Process Orchestration Software, Q3 2026. The report evaluated 13 providers, and Boomi achieved the highest score in the strategy category. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260928931590/en/ Boomi Named a Leader and Secures Highest Score in the Strategy Category in Adaptive Process Orchestration Software Evaluation According to the report, Boomi’s “above-par roadmap is driven by a strong internal innovation process that embraces partner input and customer feedback, while recent investments focus on supporting client data sovereignty and control in geographies where sovereignty matters.” The report also cites Boomi's vendor-neutral control plane for agentic automation as allowing it to extend into the process automation market, an approach reinforced by recent acquisitions, such as Lunar.dev, an
Azalea Vision Enrolls First Patient in Proof-of-Concept Study Evaluating Novel Optical Aperture for Keratoconus and Presbyopia28.9.2026 17:27:00 EEST | Press release
Azalea Vision, a Belgian healthtech company building the first medical-grade smart contact lens, today announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its NOA proof-of-concept study. The study marks the start of Azalea’s clinical program, following its selection for the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260928982998/en/ Novel Optical Aperture smart lens The study is conducted at Visser Contact Lenses (Netherlands) and the University Hospital Antwerp (UZA, Belgium). It evaluates a contact lens with a precisely positioned aperture, the optical principle at the core of Azalea’s adaptive smart lens, to reduce higher-order aberrations in keratoconus and to improve near vision in presbyopia. “For people living with keratoconus and presbyopia, better optical solutions can make a real difference in everyday life. We are proud to take part in this first clinical step and
CORRECTING and REPLACING SES Launches Cash Tender Offer28.9.2026 16:42:00 EEST | Press release
Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions to dates. The updated release reads: CORRECTING and REPLACINGSES Launches Cash Tender Offer THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS (INCLUDING PUERTO RICO, THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, GUAM, AMERICAN SAMOA, WAKE ISLAND AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS), ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (THE UNITED STATES) OR TO ANY U.S. PERSON (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S OF THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE SECURITIES ACT)) OR IN OR INTO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMEN
Incognito Software Systems Launches NEXA, an AI-Enabled Solution for Automated Broadband Operations28.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Incognito Software Systems, a leading global provider of service orchestration, device management, and network intelligence solutions, today introduced NEXA, an AI-driven network intelligence and automation platform that enables broadband service providers to turn operational data into action. NEXA unifies network, device, service, and subscriber data in a single intelligence layer, delivering real-time and predictive insights that help service providers identify issues sooner, better understand the subscriber experience, and take faster, more informed action across their operations. As service providers seek to differentiate beyond connectivity, subscriber experience has become a critical competitive advantage. However, networks have evolved into complex service platforms that span access, edge, customer premises, apps, and third-party systems, making it difficult to detect and resolve issues quickly. NEXA addresses this challenge by combining cross-platform observability with AI-enab
Volante Technologies and Circle advance stablecoin payment and settlement capabilities for financial institutions28.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Volante Technologies, the global leader in Payments as a Service (PaaS), today announced a strategic collaboration with Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL) (“Circle”), a leading internet financial platform company and the issuer of USDC1 through its regulated entities, to help financial institutions integrate stablecoin payment and settlement capabilities into their existing payment operations. Through the collaboration, Volante is bringing USDC workflows into its AI-powered Payments Platform, enabling financial institutions to evaluate how stablecoin activity can operate alongside existing payment rails, operational controls, and on- and off-ramp requirements - without requiring a separate digital asset stack. Volante clients, which include four of the top five global corporate banks and seven of the top 10 U.S. banks, will be able to evaluate key workflows, including minting, redemption, beneficiary wallet registration, funding, notifications, and wallet-to-wallet payment execut
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