Co-op Live shelves more gigs as technical woes continue
Further issues saw a performance cancelled just minutes before doors were due to open on Wednesday night, followed by other shows in the coming days being postponed.
The 23,500-capacity £350m venue, developed by Oak View Group, has been beset by problems in attempting to open.
As fans queued outside the venue for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on Wednesday, Co-op Live issued a statement on social media confirming the show had been cancelled due to technical issues.
It said: “Due to a venue-related technical issue, tonight’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie show will no longer go ahead. We kindly ask fans to leave the area.
“Tickets holders will receive further information in due course.”
Due to a venue-related technical issue, tonight’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie show will no longer go ahead. We kindly ask fans to leave the area. Tickets holders will receive further information in due course.
— Co-op Live (@TheCoopLive) May 1, 2024
This was followed swiftly by a further statement confirming Olivia Rodrigo’s scheduled gigs for this Friday and Saturday have also been postponed.
A Co-op Live spokesman said: “Due to an ongoing venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3 and 4 May are being postponed.
“Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund at point of purchase.
“We deeply apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many.”
Due to an on-going venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed. Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund at point of purchase.
— Co-op Live (@TheCoopLive) May 1, 2024
This is the latest setback after the venue was due to launch last week with midweek performances from comedian Peter Kay, and a weekend gig by the Black Keys.
But as the week progressed these events ended up being postponed due to technical issues, before ending with the resignation of Co-op Live general manager Gary Roden. Rebecca Kane Burton, who has previously worked at London’s O2 Arena, stepped in as interim GM.
Teething problems related to the internal communications systems, fire safety, and internal security had emerged at a test event featuring Rick Astley last month.
Place North West has contacted BAM Construction, which has built the venue, for comment. Turner & Townsend, the project manager and cost consultant for the arena, declined to comment. Turner & Townsend said that media enquiries were being handled directly by Oak View Group. BAM had said the same when Place approached the company after the first event cancellation at Co-Op Live.
How embarrassing
By Anonymous
Pathetic
By DH
Oh my , I’m not only embarrassed but distraught…I shall write to the Times so affected am I . It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me ! 😅
By HD
Re HD … excellent post. Life is so difficult coping with these first world problems!
By Peter Chapman
HD you’re on the wrong site
By DH
Well I for one have nothing to add to the debate but my feelings of embarrassment. Much as in Life really. Oh, also I feel pathetic . I Like the new arena though😎
By Wooden top
I am sure the lawyers will be pouring over the contracts and it could end up in court but overall the co-op live will be a huge success and this debacle will be forgotten.
By Anonymous
its a construction project, what do people expect, more fool the operators for not including a snagging period before taking bookings!
By cw
This is not a one off shambles the Factory building has also been a shambles of delays and vast increases in building costs.Its about time the ever so smug Manchester property industry admitted this rather than pretending these are just temporary problems.
By Tracey Rubin
Run like Ringway
By Anonymous
“Place North West has contacted BAM Construction, which has built the venue, for comment.”
Careful PNW. You’re in danger of doing some journalism here. Maybe speak to the Building Services subcontractor too.
Obviously too late now I know, but I do wish they bit the bullet and postponed opening the venue for 2-3mths, to allow the venue to completed and fully commissioned. Get all the embarrassment dealt with in one go and resolve the obvious issues with the building.
By Baffled
Who are the Project Managers? Where are they?
By Big Dub
Hi Big Dub! Apologies for the late response on this one. Turner & Townsend is the project manager and cost consultant. Unfortunately they have also declined to comment, directing all media enquiries to Oak View Group. I’ve updated the story with that information though. – Julia
By Julia Hatmaker
Tracey Rubin – Project delays in construction projects are an “industry” problem, not a “Manchester” problem.
In fairness to Bam, they will undoubtedly come under significant financial pressure, trying to deliver a complex project, in a high inflationary environment. Given the lack of time between test events and planned openings, no doubt, the operator is under significant pressure too.
The issue here (and I am only speculating) is simply, rather than admit the delays and revise the construction and opening schedules accordingly, in the very human way we do, people have attempted to simply “get it open”. We are witnessing the consequences
By Baffled
As long as all of those people paid for hotels and bars that’s all that matters, no down side at all
By James
It’ll be fine. The excitables need to calm down. There…that’s better isn’t it?
By Anonymous
Great news for Manchester Arena, they’ve got Take That and a lot more future bookings because of this
By Peter
The flip side of naming rights, I have seen more than one person today say things such as, why did co op let this happen and why did co op book acts if their arena wasn’t built. It is fixed in a lot of people’s minds that co op is responsible.
By Dave
Take That are now the latest of many exciting acts switching events from here to the arena at Victoria Station.
By Barbara Jones
On the bases that there is no such thing as bad publicity, nationally people who wouldn’t know what the co-op live is are now fully aware of its existence. Every cloud has a silver lining.
By Anonymous
I think that most people think that the co-op own it
By Gilly
One reason it’s good to have two big arenas in the city! AO let’s go …indeed!
By Anonymous
Its falling apart already.
By Anonymous
Do people not have anything better to do than to comment on a story about an arena?
By Anonymous
Is it Anonymous 10.19 ? Oh please share your insight, you must be on the project team…go on enlighten us we are agog.
By Reginald Gruntfuttock
The “technical” issue is that it isn’t finished
By Mancunian
Tracy Rubin you highlight two high profile projects in Manchester which have had issues with cost inflation in the case of Factory and completion deadlines in the case of co-op but you failed to mention all the development success which go unnoticed. Could it be Tracy that as Greater Manchester builds more than any other city region in the UK apart from London it will inevitably have more high profile issues?
By Anonymous
Can’t get the staff
By Anonymous