More gigs postponed amid opening week chaos at Manchester Co-op Live arena

The troubled Co-op Live arena has once again postponed the performances of comedian Peter Kay. Furthermore, on the very same day, the general manager resigned due to the venue's opening being delayed.

Several performances at the Manchester venue, which can hold up to 23,500 people, have been postponed. The venue was supposed to open three days ago, but it will now be delayed until May.

Kay, whose two performances were already delayed due to technical difficulties in the arena, expressed his regret to his fans and said, "I'm shocked too."

Gary Roden stepped down from his position as the general manager of the recently constructed venue. He received negative feedback from his statement that certain minor music venues were not properly managed.

The location had its inaugural concert on the previous Saturday, with Rick Astley making an unexpected appearance, singing for an audience of 11,000 employees from the arena, important people, and representatives of the media at a practice event that was free of cost. The performance went awry with several issues, such as the annulment of approximately 4,000 tickets, which infuriated the attendees as they were informed just one hour before the show.

People who purchased tickets were informed that they have the option to attend a show a week later featuring the US rock duo the Black Keys. Nevertheless, the Co-op Live venue has subsequently rescheduled this performance to 15 May. Additionally, Peter Kay is set to perform on 23 and 24 May.

A co-owner of the newly established location expressed their satisfaction with the comic, describing them as "amazing" and possessing "an excellent comedic sensibility". The venue will subsequently be inaugurated by the talented American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Tim Leiweke, who is the head of the Oak View Group, a company that deals with sports and real estate, announced that the event has been rescheduled. He praised Peter Kay, stating that he has a great sense of humor and has been wonderful to work with. Leiweke expressed his gratitude towards Peter Kay and said that the show would now take place on May 23 and 24, with a few additional days added to their schedule for next week.

It never crossed my mind that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie would be the one to inaugurate the establishment, yet, surprising as it may seem, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie will be the one to kick things off.

The company Co-op Live expressed gratitude towards Roden for his assistance in providing the latest arena in the UK for the enjoyment of entertainment enthusiasts. Co-op Live also wished Roden the best in his future endeavors. They have decided to appoint Rebecca Kane Burton as the interim general manager, who was previously responsible for the management of London's O2 Arena.

Located on the Etihad campus near the Manchester City football stadium, a state-of-the-art venue worth £365 million is set to feature performances by popular artists such as Take That, the Killers, Eric Clapton, Barry Manilow, and Olivia Rodrigo in the upcoming weeks. Additionally, it is lined up to host the MTV Europe music awards in November.

The venue construction started in 2021 and was funded by the City Football Group, which is owned by the billionaire Emirati Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Oak View Group. Although the city leaders were pleased with the project, some doubts were raised regarding the necessity of another music venue of such a grand scale, especially since there is already the 21,000-person Manchester AO arena just 2 miles away.

Co-op Live has faced criticism for their decision not to participate in a £1 levy per ticket that supports the Music Venue Trust's investment fund for smaller live music venues. Co-op Live is made up of multiple smaller performance spaces.

To the BBC, Roden shared that the fee was "too basic" and also mentioned that certain places were not managed well. Moreover, he pointed out that there was no strong mechanism in place to determine which entities would be granted the funds. However, the venue later clarified that his opinions do not reflect those of the organization.

The MVT replied to NME, stating that it was impolite and insincere to propose that small venues were ineptly managed.

The statement expressed that there was irony in making inappropriate and false statements about small music venues on the exact same day that the unveiling of their latest arena had encountered hardships. This irony was not overlooked by those in the music industry, performers, or attendees.