When it comes to Manchester, one thing is certain, there are more reasons to visit the city on a short city break that you could imagine. From great atmosphere to places to see, nightlife, the exciting and original music scene and more. In today’s post I want to present one of the best concert venues in the city, the famous Manchester Arena.
Opened in 1995, as part of city’s, unfortunately unsuccessful, bid to host the Olympic Games (in 1996 and 2000), the Arena is one of the busiest such places in the World. In 2007 alone the MEN Arena had “beaten” such venues as Madison Square Garden and O2 Arena when it cme to ticket sales! The Arena is also the largest such venue in the UK, with the capacity of 21000.
Events in Manchester Arena
Music
That’s what the venue is famous for, its events. Built in a traditional American sports arena style, MEN Arena can hold both sports and music events. And, it’s the latter that the venue is most famous for and the main source of its visitors.
Many of the stars of today and past choose MEN Arena to record their live albums and accompanying DVD movies. Only recently the Saturdays have recorded their first ever headlining show in the Arena to be released on a DVD soon. Deep Purple visited the Arena with their current “Songs that Built Rock” tour at the end of November and many more artists are scheduled to play the venue in the months to come.
Sports
The Manchester Arena has been a home to three sports teams: the Manchester Storm and Manchester Phoenix ice hockey teams, and the Manchester Giants basketball team. It is however no longer used by any sports team as a base of operation. The Arena is used for once off sporting events such as hockey, WWE, boxing and swimming.
Manchester Arena Facilities
The View
The View is a dedicated restaurant and a club in the Arena, where you can relax and enjoy before the show kicks over. The View is opened half an hour earlier than the doors to the venue and it closes when the main act takes the stage. You can find our more about the View here.
Priority Pass
If you want to make sure that you will always get tickets to shows, subscribe to the Priority Pass. You will be able to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public. As a member you may also have a chance to win meet-and-greets with some of the hottest music acts in the world, signed merchandise and exclusive Manchester Arena backstage tours. More info
How to Get to Manchester Arena
The arena is located beside the Manchester Victoria railway station. Apart from train you can also jump on the Metrolink tram there. The Arena has a large car park nearby and smaller car parks are located around the city centre.
Photo credit: Porphyria Poppins via Flickr
