The owners of Manchester Arena have published images showing their ambitious plans to revamp the city centre’s iconic performance venue.
ASM Global has announced they intend to transform the Arena with a new exterior, remodelled entranceway, and added concourse levels.
If complete, the capacity of Manchester Arena would be increased to a whopping 24,000.
Earlier this year, American development and investment company Oak View Group (OVG) announced plans to build a second arena in Manchester’s Eastlands area – which would cost £350m and be the largest of its kind in Britain.
This has prompted ASM to look at future-proofing their own venue and preserve its status as the go-to performance centre in Manchester.
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Tom Lynch, Director of Business Development, ASM Global, commented: “Our plans will reimagine the whole customer experience at the venue, with a new exterior, a completely remodelled entrance sequence, additional concourse circulation space and some great new VIP experiences.
“We plan to embed sustainability into every aspect of the redevelopment, as part of our mission to become one of the lowest carbon venues in Europe. We’re currently consulting with our neighbours and the City Council, and we look forward to launching public consultation to welcome input from the rest of the city.
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“We will increase capacity of the venue to 24,000 by creating new entrances and exits, to bring more people to shows while ensuring safe and speedy entry and exit to events.
“Our plans are consistent with existing planning policy and support regional economic strategy, including many of the recommendations made within The Greater Manchester Music Review.”
Manchester Arena is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020 and has continued to find a way to host shows despite the pandemic.
The event featured performances from Lionel Richie, Alice Cooper, Badly Drawn Boy, Tim Burgess, Emeli Sande, Everything Everything, Kelli-Leigh, Kodaline, Slow Readers Club and The Hoosiers.
Funds raised are being shared amongst The Booth Centre, The Christie, Forever Manchester and Nordoff Robbins charities (you can view the performances and still donate here).
Whilst OVG has repeatedly reaffirmed its belief that Manchester can sustain two major venues, companies working closely with Manc Arena have expressed concern.
These include Manchester Arndale; Aviva Investors; DTZ Investors; Living Ventures; the Manchester Hospitality Network; San Carlo Restaurant Group and Prestbury Investments.
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The strain placed on the economy by coronavirus remains a significant concern for Manchester Arena – with most live performances still on hold.
But many also fear a second arena could detract footfall away from the city centre.
Jeremy Roberts, co-founder of Living Ventures, owners of Australasia, Grand Pacific and founders of The Oast House and The Alchemist: “Now is not the time to destabilise our city centre’s hospitality trade, and I, along with many other local business owners, are deeply concerned by the proposal’s inclusion of significant food & beverage space.
“We were assured this proposal would encourage more visitors and trade. Instead, it is clear it will simply act as an out-of-town competing offering.
“Manchester Arena plays a key role in our city’s ecosystem, providing footfall for many local businesses. Right now, the city centre needs confidence and must protect its existing bars and restaurants.”
More information on Manchester Arena’s development plans can be found here.
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Chester Zoo becomes first UK zoo to gain important international status
Danny Jones
The North West’s beloved Chester Zoo has been awarded a highly coveted global status, being named as the first international botanical garden in the entire UK.
With so many well-deserved awards, accolades and plaudits from within the world of wildlife preservation over the year, it’s no surprise.
A gem in Cheshire and the wider region’s crown, which continues to express its extreme commitment to ecological and environmental causes year in and year out, Chester Zoo is regularly ranked the best in the country and one of the top facilities in all of Europe, and now its worldwide reputation is growing too.
Taking its already sterling CV one further this year, 2026 marks the inaugural year of not only Chester Zoo existing as a recognised international botanical garden, but a big moment for Great Britain’s conservation status in general, as it’s been over 150 years since it last held the status.
Writing on social media in response to the huge honour, they wrote: “We’re officially the FIRST UK zoo recognised as a globally important botanic garden!
“We care for hundreds of rare plants, protect species at risk of extinction, and create beautiful gardens that encourage visitors to slow down and connect with nature.
“Global plant conservation organisation [Botanic Gardens Conservation International] assessed us against 22 criteria before awarding us Conservation Practitioner status – a recognition that now lets us do even more to protect native wildlife alongside our incredible conservation partners!”
Incredible stuff.
They signed off by adding that their efforts are “all made possible by YOU”, with 2025 marking an all-around groundbreaking year for the venue, as a total of 2,136,224 visitors came through the gates to surpass their previous record tally back in 2019 (2,086,785).
BGCI’s awarding of Conservation Practitioner is yet more proof of just how much work Chester Zoo does throughout the annual calendar, not least of all the incredible fundraising they do via various activations like their hugely successful charity run.
They signed off by adding that their efforts are “all made possible by YOU”, with 2025 marking an all-around groundbreaking year for the venue, as a total of 2,136,224 individuals came through the gates to surpass their previous record tally back in 2019 (2,086,785).
Speaking directly on the watershed moment, the zoo’s head of plants, Philip Esseen, said in an official press release: “This recognition shows that our plant work has real conservation value.
“We’re caring for species that are threatened with extinction in the wild, and that carries a responsibility to protect them, propagate them and share our expertise with others.
“The accreditation will help us work more closely with other horticultural and conservation organisations and increase the amount of conservation work we can do, particularly to support native species.”
Congratulations once again to Chester Zoo on such a significant achievement, and with around 10k people visiting each day – be that staff, field-expert guests or visitors – the proof is in the pudding: it really is the best in Britain doing some of the most vital work possible.
The UK has lost half of it's hedgehogs in the last 20 years, so here's 3 simple things you can do to make your garden a hedgehog haven 👇
🏡 Create a cosy hideout – piles of leaves, logs, or a hedgehog house give them a safe spot to rest Make a hedgehog highway – leave a…
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Chester Zoo)
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Family pay tribute to ‘fun-loving’ son who died in Wythenshawe as man charged with murder
Emily Sergeant
The family of a man who died in Wythenshawe last week have now paid a touching tribute to him.
It comes after at around 11:35pm last Thursday (5 February), Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called out to reports of an incident on Southwick Road in the Northern Moor area of Wythenshawe, and when emergency services attended the scene, they discovered a man in his 20s had been ‘seriously injured’.
Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the man sadly at the scene.
The victim has since been formally identified as Drew McCormick, who was aged 29, and another man was also subsequently arrested.
19-year-old Lewis Morley, of Ryecroft Grove in Manchester, was charged with murder and has been remanded to next appear at Manchester Crown Square Court on Tuesday 10 March 2026.
A police investigation into the incident is now being run by GMP’s Major Incident Team (MIT) and enquiries are ongoing.
In the meantime, Drew’s family have paid tribute: “There are just not enough words to describe Drew and the impact he had on many lives. He was a fun-loving person that brought laughter and joy to the world with his big bright smile and loud laugh.
“Drew had the biggest heart and would do anything for those he loved. He loved his family deeply even more than TikTok.
“He has left a huge hole in our hearts, and our lives will never be the same. We love you Drew and will keep you in our hearts forever.”
With investigations ongoing, anyone who has any information or footage in relation to the incident that may assist GMP with its enquiries is urged to report them via the dedicated major incident portal here.
The Manc -
23rd July 2020 
