Conference and exhibition centre EventCity in Trafford has pulled plans for venue relocation and has announced its closure.
The large-scale events venue – which has previously hosted a range of events including Winter Funland, the Ideal Home Show and Park N Party – had already been scheduled to close and relocate to a new, purpose-built facility on the site of the old Soccerdome nearby next spring, but the plans, which were approved earlier this year, have now been withdrawn and EventCity will cease trading completely from 31st March 2021.
Owners Peel Group confirmed the closure yesterday evening.
It said that the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis on the events and hospitality sector had been “far more extreme than anyone could have envisaged”.
In a statement addressing the closures, a Peel Group spokesperson said: “EventCity’s business strategy throughout the COVID-19 crisis has been focussed on the health, safety and wellbeing of our people, while protecting as many jobs as possible during this exceptionally challenging period.
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“In recent weeks, it has become increasingly clear that the depth of the economic contraction, particularly in the events and hospitality sectors, is far more extreme than anyone could have envisaged. Regrettably, we have had to take the decision to close EventCity by 31st March 2021 and withdraw our plans for a new facility, which were approved by Trafford Council in February of this year.”
EventCity
Construction had yet to begin on the new venue, and Peel is understood to now be exploring other potential leisure options for the Soccerdome site.
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A consultation process has now been launched with staff and around 20 roles are understood to be affected.
The spokesperson continued: “The team have been working hard to follow government guidelines ensuring our re-opening plans adhere to strict protocols set out by a variety of standards and leading industry bodies,”
“A reduced team will operate the events until closure takes place and we will be working with colleagues to support them through this period. The economic uncertainties should in no way undermine the extraordinary commitment and loyalty our colleagues have shown during these most testing times.
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“We would like to thank you for your support and commitment over the years and we wish you all the best for the future.”
Plans for the state-of-the-art development were approved in April and it’s set to open in 2023.
The resort will house a number of pools, water slides, a wave pool, swim-up bars, warm water lagoons and botanical gardens, and there’ll also be a range of spa facilities – including steam rooms, saunas and therapeutic mineral pools – plus a daily programme of water-based fitness classes, such as yoga and pilates.
You can find more information at the Therme Group website here.
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Manchester ranked among the worst UK cities for throwing away food at Christmas
Emily Sergeant
A new survey has ranked Manchester among the worst cities in the UK when it comes to throwing away leftover food at Christmas.
If there’s one thing we know for certain, it’s that a lot of food gets consumed during Christmas time, but unfortunately, what then comes along with that, is a lot of food getting thrown away too – with a new study revealing that British families are expected to bin nearly £300 million worth of festive food this year alone.
And sadly, Manchester has been named one of the top festive food waste hotspots.
Ahead of the festive season, leading electricals retailer, AO.com, is on a mission to help Brits cut back on their food waste, as 54% of Mancs have admitted to chucking out leftovers.
The survey found that, on average, a British family spends £136 on their Christmas food shopping, but 11% of that goes to waste.
This equates to a whopping £292,822,360 in Christmas food waste in total this year.
With almost 78% of survey respondents saying they would prefer to have their meals at home during the Christmas period, rather than dining out, the research uncovered that a quarter of Brits often throw away their Brussels sprouts, while one in 10 even admitted to binning everyone’s festive favourite, pigs in blankets.
Manchester has ranked among the worst UK cities for throwing away food at Christmas / Credit: Freepik | Flickr
Other northern cities ranking alongside Manchester in the not-so-coveted list of highest festive food waste offenders include Newcastle and Sheffield.
The capitals of London, Edinburgh, and Belfast also feature.
The news that Manchester has been named a festive food waste capital comes after a shocking study, also by AO, revealed back in August that Mancs throw away more than £1,000 of ‘freezable’ food every year too.
Featured Image – gpointstudio (via Freepik)
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Tyson Fury says he hasn’t spoken to his wife in ‘three months’ whilst preparing for Usyk rematch
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury says hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris for three whole months while preparing for the much-anticipated Oleksandr Usyk rematch.
The Manc fighter is set to face the Ukrainian counterpart in the ‘Undisputed’ sequel, simply dubbed Fury vs Usyk 2, which will result in one unified heavyweight champion of the world.
Usyk’s victory over the Wythenshawe-born boxer back in May saw him take that title for the first time since 1999 (the only man to have done so in the four-belt era) but with the rematch nearly upon us, Fury could be set to steal that title away from him.
With that in mind, the pressure has clearly been on ever since he lost the first bout and, according to Tyson himself, he hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris Fury for virtually a quarter of a year as part of his immensely strict training camp.
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the match this weekend, he claimed: “I haven’t spoke to Paris in three months – not a word. [I’ve] not spoke to anyone, I haven’t been on my phone.”
Explaining that he simply removed all distractions to get his head in the right space ahead of the title decider, ‘The Gypsy King’ has been known to isolate himself from the rest of the world before a big fight in the past, but cutting contact with your spouse of 10 years and partner for nearly two decades is wild.
The 36-year-old went on to detail that in order to give himself the best shot at winning, he couldn’t keep switching between “beast mode to dad mode to wife mode” and so on.
In separate interviews with other outlets ahead of the highly-awaited rematch, Fury has made various other big claims about what boxing fans can expect from his own performance, including an admission that he needs to be “more focused this time and not do as much showboating” in the ring.
Nevertheless, he also assured the media that he isn’t a quitter and has promised he will not just “f*** up” his 37-year-old opponent but “retire” him. Usyk, on the other hand, has warned he will be a different challenge than the last time the two faced each other, predicting a knockout victory too.
Having downed Tyson more than once the last time around, he’s understandably confident of his chances.
Bold words from the pair of them, indeed, but this is all just part and parcel of the usual pre-fight build-up; all we really know is that Usyk won the previous face-off and Fury is the one with the point to prove.
While younger brother Tommy Fury recently had to pull out of his scheduled fight against Darren Till, during which tensions seriously boiled over during the first press conference, it looks as though there is no risk of more cancellations and any more ‘will they won’t they?’ antics between these two at least.
The rematch, or ‘Fury vs Usyk 2: Undisputed’ to give use its full title (the latest in Saudi Arabia’s growing fight scene and live sports programming as part of Riyadh Season) takes place this Saturday, 21 December, with the two set to clash once again from 10:25 GMT.
Who do you think will emerge victorious from this one and, more importantly, when do you think we’ll see the third and ‘final’ fight when they inevitably demand a trilogy?…
Emily Sergeant -
11th September 2020 
