This month the UK’s largest indoor arena will open in Manchester. Called the Co-op Live, it apparently cost a whopping £365 million and has space for 23,500 gig-goers – vastly dwarfing London’s O2 Arena, which has a capacity of 20,000.
If you’re a Londoner looking enviously over at Mannie’s swish new venue (pictured above), well, we may have some exciting news. American entrepreneur Tim Leiweke – the guy behind the Co-op Live and owner of Oak View Group – has revealed that he wants to build ‘the greatest arena in the world’ in London.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Leiweke said it could be up to a year before the plans become a reality. Or, in his words, before ‘it gets real’.
When asked about a potential location, Leiweke said: ‘If you guessed Hammersmith, it would be a good guess.
‘We’re pretty focused on a particular site. We’re excited about the site.’
So, sounds like west London could be getting an arena to rival the Co-op Live! But it might be best not to get too carried away just yet. Mr Leiweke went on to tell the Telegraph: ‘But I understand there’s a process, and we need to talk to neighbours, we need to talk to the community, we need to talk to the business leaders and to political leaders. We’re going to play by their rules, I'm not going to get ahead of them.’
While Manchester’s Co-op Live sure is glam, it hasn’t been without its issues. Due to power supply problems, the venue’s opening two gigs with comedian Peter Kay this week were postponed for an entire month. The venue will open next month.
On the hunt for great gig venues? Look no further than the best music venues in the UK, according to musicians and our list of London’s finest clubs.
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