MEN Arena becomes Manchester Arena
The owners of the 21,000-capacity entertainment venue have started the re-branding process following the end of the sponsorship agreement with the Manchester Evening News.
The large sign on Trinity Way was removed this week and other signage around the complex, directing drivers and pedestrians, will soon follow.
The agreement with the MEN lasted for 13 years but new owner Development Securities, which acquired the site in a joint venture with Patron Capital in 2010 for £62.2m, believes it can secure a far more lucrative branding deal.
The local newspaper paid a reported £500,000 a year for the naming rights. In contrast, the name of the Scottish Hydro Arena, currently under construction in Glasgow, went for £1.5m a year in a 15-year deal.
DevSec and arena operating company SMG Europe are in talks with potential branding partners but no date has been set for an announcement.
Meanwhile, leisure industry publication Pollstar said this week that the Manchester Arena was the second busiest venue in the world in 2011. Pollstar reported over 1.2m ticket sales at the Manchester venue, an increase of 12% on the previous year's figures. This was 500,000 more than the third placed venue.
The top arenas of 2011 by ticket sales were as follows:
- The O2 London: 1.9m tickets sold
- MEN Arena: 1.2m
- Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Belgium: 714,000
- Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia: 706,000
- The O2 Dublin: 670,000
- Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France: 659,000
- Staples Center, Los Angeles: 633,000
- Madison Square Garden Arena, New York: 616,000
- Air Canada Centre, Toronto: 582,000
- LG Arena, Birmingham: 561,000
God, the building is ugly, unlike the Liverpool ACC
By Dave
Don’t see that in the top 10 list though??
By Shinpad