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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26
Danny Jones
A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.
The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.
It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.
Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.
As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.
“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”
Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.
“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”
Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.
It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.
Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.
Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”
Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.
Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.
Manchester City win first Women’s Super League title in a decade
Danny Jones
After a decade of hope and hard work, Manchester City have finally won the Women’s Super League once again in a huge moment for the local club.
Lifting not just their first division title in 10 years, but only their second WSL trophy since the modern female football era began in 2010, it felt like only a matter of time to many supporters.
Ending a six-year Chelsea supremacy, this is also manager Andrée Jeglertz’s first at the helm of Man City’s women’s team, who arrived at the club with a strong silverware record at the start of this season.
These were the scenes at home base as one key result sealed their status as champions:
— Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) May 6, 2026
City Women secured the WSL title following third-placed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
They even managed to do so with a game to spare and a six-point gap over the west London club, which has won so much over the past few years.
Speaking in an interview with club media after confirmation of the win, captain and Euro 2025-winning Lionesses defender, Alex Greenwood, said: “[It feels] absolutely incredible. “A moment – we as a team, me personally – us as a club has waited so long for”.
“An incredible moment, it’s an incredible feeling. I’m so glad we got to spend this moment together as a group. Just an absolutely incredible feeling.”
With fans watching both at home, along with the first team themselves, the celebrations have already begun as the team shared a look back at how they got here.
You can see the recap posted on social media in full below.
Commenting on his latest accolade, the Swedish head coach added in a full club statement: “There’s never been doubt about the talent in the group, but there is something else about talking about being winners and champions. We started that early, and we believed in that. That’s led us through this year.
“It hasn’t been easy; it’s been hard work every day, but we had a strong belief that we could be sitting here in May and be champions. That is the first thing, and we definitely deserve it.”
Congratulations to the Cityzens on a well-deserved and long-awaited WSL title; could this be the start of another sporting dynasty of dominance over in East Manchester? Only time will tell…
In other news around the Etihad Campus, the women’s, EDS and academy team stadium is also set to host the final of the FA Youth Cup later this month.
Danny Jones -
4th January 2024 
