Co-op Live becoming a year-round destination with new canalside cafe, bars and shops
Co-op Live will expand and open on non-event days in an effort to make the 23,500-capacity arena a ‘year-round destination’.
Bosses at the Eastlands venue secured planning permission to construct a two-storey hospitality terrace by the Ashton Canal where guests can enjoy more eateries, bars, and shops. Builders moved in just days after the nod.
Co-op Live said adding ‘Canalside’, around the size of two-and-a-half tennis courts, ‘will act as a catalyst for the expansion of the Etihad Campus into a year-round, world-class sports and entertainment destination, enhancing its reputation nationally’.
They have also confirmed Canalside will open as a cafe and community events space on non-events days, effectively confirming that Co-op Live will become a neighbourhood hub as first reported back in 2022, when it was being constructed.
Thousands of homes are set to be built in Holt Town next to the Etihad Campus in the next decade, meaning there are plenty of potential visitors a stone’s throw from the arena when no-one is on-stage.
In the interim, developers Oak View Group (OVG) said there will be benefits for the existing community around Co-op Live.
“By encouraging extended dwell times before and after events, the development will help to smooth out peak travel movements, reducing congestion and minimising the impact on the local community,” OVG said in its planning application.
The company also saw planning permission granted for new signage both in and outside of the £450m arena, ‘including one LED screen integrated into the western facade’.
Expansion of the venue comes just over a year after a tumultuous start for Co-op Live, with its opening repeatedly rescheduled due to safety and technical concerns.
However, it is now firmly established as one of Manchester’s most popular attractions, hosting some of the gigs which brought more than 1.3m music tourists to the city this summer.