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
Signaloid Announces Preview of New ASIC Targeted at Physical AI and Robotics Applications2.6.2026 07:00:00 EEST | Press release
Signaloid (https://signaloid.com), a computing platform company providing hardware and binary-translation-based acceleration of AI, robotics, aerospace, and quantitative finance workloads, today announced the tapeout and preliminary specifications documents for its C0-ASIC. Delivery of engineering samples to the first customer is due in Q3 2026 and additional FPGA-based systems implementing the ASIC’s design are under discussion for deployment in the UK and Switzerland later in 2026. The C0-ASIC was targeted specifically at energy-efficient physical AI workloads. The UK Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) will take delivery of systems based on the ASIC for use in next-generation AI workloads such as second order methods. “The Scaling Compute program at ARIA commissioned several innovative technology prototypes pursuing unconventional ideas to design new AI accelerators,” says ARIA Program Director Suraj Bramhavar. “We commissioned Signaloid’s C0-ASIC for evaluation in randomi
Blackstone Raises its Largest Asia Private Equity Fund at $13.1 Billion2.6.2026 04:00:00 EEST | Press release
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the final close of Blackstone Capital Partners Asia III (“BCP Asia III”) at $13.1 billion, exceeding its $10 billion target and marking the firm’s largest private equity fundraise in the region. The oversubscribed fund reached its hard cap and builds on the strong performance of the strategy’s first two vintages, with this close representing more than double the amount of capital raised for its predecessor vehicle. Joe Baratta, Global Head of Blackstone Private Equity Strategies,said: “We are grateful for the continued trust of our investors in Blackstone and our leading Asia Private Equity franchise. This successful fundraise reflects the strength of our platform and our ability to perform through cycles. Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region in the world, presenting compelling opportunities to invest at scale behind our high-conviction themes and deliver for our investors.” Amit Dixit, Head of Asia for Blackstone Private Equity, said: “For t
Phison Collaborates with Intel to Bring Larger Local AI Workloads to Intel AI PC Platforms2.6.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
COMPUTEX — Phison Electronics (8299TT), a global leader in NAND flash controllers and storage solutions, today announced a collaboration with Intel to enable AI PCs to deploy larger, more capable AI applications locally. The collaboration combines Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors with Phison’s Pascari aiDAPTIV, a memory extension solution that unblocks memory-constrained systems to support larger Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) AI models, longer-running AI sessions and agentic AI workflows. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260601878925/en/ Phison and Intel collaborate to bring larger local AI workloads to Intel AI PC Platforms Today, AI PCs are moving beyond simple assistant applications toward more advanced local AI use cases. These solutions now support end users and businesses in document analysis, multi-step workflow execution and private data protection while reducing reliance on cloud-only AI services. As
Phison Unlocks Full-Scale AI Deployment Across Industries2.6.2026 03:00:00 EEST | Press release
Phison Electronics (8299TT), a global leader in NAND flash controllers and storage solutions, today announced a new strategic initiative at COMPUTEX 2026 under the theme “AI Enabler: Evolving Data Storage Intelligence.” Expanding beyond its role as a storage technology leader, Phison is taking a systems-level approach to AI solutions spanning AI infrastructure, edge AI computing and AI software platforms. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260601070396/en/ Phison evolving data storage intelligence at COMPUTEX 2026 At COMPUTEX 2026, Phison is showcasing comprehensive AI storage and computing architecture solutions designed to address key challenges facing enterprises and end users in the AI era, including high AI deployment costs, GPU and memory limitations, data privacy concerns and the increasing storage bandwidth and power demands driven by AI workloads. Four Core Technology Directions for AI and High-Speed Sto
SymphonyAI Brings AI-Powered Assortment and Space Platform to Global CPGs, Compressing Category Review Cycles from Weeks to Days2.6.2026 01:35:00 EEST | Press release
Planogram compliance failures, undetected out-of-stocks, and the lag between headquarters planning and store-level execution cost grocers measurably in comp sales, shrink, and associate labor hours. The tools built for category planning have never been designed to close that execution gap. In response, SymphonyAI, a global leader in Vertical AI, today announced the availability of CINDE Assortment and Space for CPGs, an AI platform that closes the loop between assortment strategy, planogram execution, and in-store compliance, compressing the category review cycle from four to six weeks to a matter of days. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260602137061/en/ The platform is underpinned by SymphonyAI's Transferable Demand AI, a model trained across 25 years of retail data and validated in production across more than 500 global CPG deployments, including PepsiCo, Southern Co-op, and every one of the top 25 global CP
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