Manchester’s AO Arena is being filled with thousands of tonnes of dirt ahead of a truly epic, high-octane night of dirtbike racing, freestyle motocrossand stunts you’ll only be able to watch through your fingers.
Over 3000 tonnes, to be precise — all courtesy of the much-anticipated Arenacross Tour 2024.
That’s right: whether you can picture it or not, one of Manchester’s most iconic and beloved venues, where many of you will have watched countless gigs and live performances over the years, is set to be turned into one big dirt track, complete with giant makeshift ramps, jumps and more.
With the AO set to host one of the Arena‘s most action-packed and biggest nights of extreme sports in the UK for just the third time in the event’s history, fans can expect everything from seven-year-old racing starlets to top pros competing for coveted titles.
Can’t lie, was pretty wild just seeing this place slowly filled with heaps of dirt.
Taking two days to build from start to finish including moving the dirt, the multi-discipline motocross event’s visit to Manchester on Saturday, 6 January has seen a total of 5,000 tonnes shipped from Bolesworth Castle in Tattenhall, Cheshire — the home of the Arenacross Festival — to assemble the full track and all its various aspects.
Requiring huge 25 dump trucks working around the clock (we’re talking loading the dirt until gone midnight and hauling it to the city centre by 5am that same day), a core team of 60 people and plenty more Arena staff chip to bring this gloriously muddy and petrol-fumed wonder to life.
Now into just the second round of Arenacross British Championship, Mancs will get to see the likes of reigning Champion Tommy Searle and last year’s runner-up Conrad Mewse battling it out for the 2024 title, as well all lots of tricks and bikes flying over 60 feet high in the air.
More than 500,000 people have come along to watch these events over the past decade and, considering what’s on show, it’s no surprise.
The youngest motocross rider competing at the AO Arena this Saturday is a seven-year-old kid, if you can believe that.
As you can see, it isn’t just about what people are doing on two wheels either: there’s plenty of pyrotechnics, light shows and general fanfare to be enjoyed.
It’s the only indoor event of its kind anywhere in the UK and with this being their 78th show and their 10-year anniversary year, the organisers are determined to make this Manchester date bigger and better than ever.
It’s been five long years since Arenacross last came to Manchester and they’ve shifted over a quarter of a million tonnes of dirt to bring this thing to life since it started. Even witnessing the mountains of dirt being dumped into the middle of a floor we’re used to dancing on was pretty surreal.
This is definitely one of those things where you need to see it to believe it, so if you’re interested in experiencing the only indoor motocross event in the country this Saturday, you can grab your tickets for the event HERE.
It’s the closest thing you’ll get to the X Games on this side of the Atlantic.
Darts returns to Manchester as Premier League dates are confirmed for 2026
Danny Jones
The schedule for the 2026 Premier League Darts tour has been officially announced, with the PDC’s annual championship returning to Manchester once again.
PDC Premier League fixtures continue to grow in popularity both in TV figures and live match attendance, with a whole new generation of fans getting into ‘the arrows’.
Just as it has for decades now, league darts is coming back to Manchester city centre and the legendary AO Arena once again, with our date landing right in the middle of the season.
Booking a big night right in the middle of a crucial period in the competition? It sounds like 0161 is set to welcome another blockbuster night up at the oche.
Confirmed on Thursday, 11 September, next year’s PDC Premier League Darts campaign will get underway in February, spanning the course of four months and eight countries.
Of the European cities on the circuit, the tournament will be heading to Belgium for the very first time, as the AFAS Dome in Antwerp replaces Exeter.
Elsewhere on the continent, there are two other mainland evenings in Germany and the Netherlands, along with multiple Northern dates here in the UK, such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
As for Manchester, we’ve been selected for round nine of 17 (including the finals), with the AO Arena set to welcome multiple favoured competitors from the North West, including 18-year-old phenomenon Luke Little from down the road in Warrington, as well as Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall.
It was an unforgettable experience for Aspinall last time around in his local event, as he finally managed to win a PDC Premier League night on home turf for the first time in his career.
Those hoping to enjoy a night of darts in front of a Manchester crowd on April 26, 2026, still have to be patient for now, as general admission is still a little way off.
However, if you are interested, you can sign up for the AO’s newsletter to find out more information and get yourself on the waiting list early.
Better, if you go straight through the PDC, you can throw your hat in the ring for the presale window right now and be first in line to grab tickets when they go live.
You can do so HERE and, until then, get your signs and fancy dress at the ready because we’ll be heading back to the ‘boring, boring tables’ soon enough.
See the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts schedule in full down below:
Manchester City said no to a pretty significant player swap with Liverpool last year
Danny Jones
Manchester City reportedly rejected a transfer proposal involving swapping one of their youngest and most exciting stars with close rivals Liverpool in 2024
This could have proved to be an interesting one…
Man City aren’t exactly short on forwards at the moment and have brought in plenty of attacking options over the past year, and with Erling Haaland breaking all manner of records up front for them, they didn’t find it too hard to sell on another promising young striker in Julián Álvarez for a club record sale.
However, as per recent claims made by a Telegraph Sport journalist, there was a possibility of Álvarez swapping the blue of City for the red of Liverpool.
🚨🚨| In summer 2024, when Liverpool realised Luis Díaz wanted to join Man City, their recruitment team proposed the Colombian to the Etihad Stadium in exchange for Julián Alvarez. Man City said: “We don’t sell to rivals." Liverpool said: “Neither do we then."
That’s according to football writer Chris Bascombe, anyway, who recently wrote that the two Premier League sides could have engaged in a player swap deal were the division’s then Treble-winners willing to negotiate with the only other team that has really contested the title with them in recent years.
As you can see, Bascombe states that Luis Díaz wanted a switch to the Etihad Stadium even before the current English champions shuffled their front three.
This has been backed up by The Times’ Paul Joyce as well, who says that the Colombian winger was ultimately “unsettled” by interest from City and others
Díaz (who recently signed for Bayern Munich) made it clear he wanted to play under Pep Guardiola, and it seems there was at least some willingness from the Merseyside outfit.
Provided they get an increasingly wantaway Julián Álvarez in return.
With Haaland having been brought in and making himself comfortably the go-to number nine for what could very well be the next decade, they clearly saw an opportunity to offer him an alternative, but Man City simply said, “We don’t sell to rivals.”
Ultimately, the now 25-year-old World Cup winner went to Europe, joining Atletico Madrid for a whopping £81.5m.
Regardless, it seems hard to imagine not only two top-flight English teams doing a deal like this but to picture what it would have been like to see Álvarez, who was still very highly thought of among a large section of supporters, being cheered on by the fans inside Anfield.
The Argentinian striker – though he has been utilised in a variety of positions at the top end of the pitch – has well and truly shone in La Liga, and now looks like he could be set to swap Madrid for Barcelona.
Álvarez has apparently made it clear to those closest to him that he wants Barca, and despite the summer window closing, the Catalan giants could pursue a deal to sign him next year when his contract expires, or indeed, even go after him this January.
Meanwhile, after bringing in plenty of new talent over the past few months, with Manchester City now effectively being given the green light to proceed with a major commercial sponsorship deal, you could very well see yet more big money being spent in seasons to come.
Danny Jones -
4th January 2024 
