A brand new bowling alley is preparing to open inside the Manchester Arndale shopping centre, as King Pins signs up to take over the old Sports Direct site.
King Pins is a state-of-the-art bowling concept – but strikes aren’t the only thing you’ll be getting up to.
The Manchester-founded leisure concept also offers beer pong, ping pong and shuffleboard, which are games that everyone can get involved in.
There’s also curling, batting cages, pool, ping pong, and karaoke, alongside food kiosks operated by some of the north west’s favourite restaurants and traders.
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You can tuck in to cocktails, housemade slushies, craft beers and sweet treats, which playing your own games or watching live sport in the bar.
Leisure and entertainment are becoming increasingly popular within the city centre – King Pins will be joining Urban Playground (where you can take on The Cube) and Immersive Gamebox at the Manchester Arndale.
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It’ll keep you and your mates entertained for hours.
King Pins will take over the former 28,890 sq ft Sports Direct unit on a 20-year lease.
King Pins will open a new bowling alley in the Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupKing Pins at the Trafford Palazzo
It’s operated by Roxy Leisure, which already has its sister brand Roxy Ball Room in the Arndale building.
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Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, said: “Leisure and entertainment operators are increasingly becoming key features of UK shopping destinations and are helping to draw in more visitors from a broader catchment group seeking social activities.
“It is therefore great to work with Roxy Leisure again on a second family-orientated leisure offer following the success of Roxy Ball Room. King Pins is a growing and already popular local brand, and we expect their offer to appeal to visitors once they are open.
“The arrival of King Pins follows our strategy of creating a diverse tenant mix at Manchester Arndale where we look to combine leading international and local brands across the retail, leisure, and F&B space to ensure we provide the best experience and choice for our customers.
“This has resulted in consistently high footfall across the centre, and near full occupancy of the available leasing space, reinforcing Manchester Arndale’s position as one of the premier attractions in the north west.”
King Pins will also have food from north west traders
James Travis, brand manager for King Pins, added: “We couldn’t be happier to be opening our second site at Manchester Arndale. Taking our state-of-the-art bowling concept to its first city centre location is hugely exciting, and where better to do it?
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“Manchester Arndale is one of the UK’s leading shopping destinations, and already has an impressive entertainment offering alongside some of the best retailers on the high street.
“With lanes, games, food, drinks and more; King Pins offers a place for the whole family to have some king-sized fun, as well as the perfect nighttime venue for friends to get together and try something a little different.
“We can’t wait to get going, and to bring the Crown Jewels of bowling to Manchester City Centre.”
It’s time to get your bowling shoes on and invite the family down for a fun-filled day with numerous different activities to get involved in.
Enter Shikari announce SUPER intimate show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Much-loved British alternative band Enter Shikari have just announced a very, VERY intimate gig in Manchester city centre, and it’s happening rather soon.
It doesn’t matter how die-hard or casual a fan you are, you are simply not ready for this one…
Almost a full 20 years from what they still covet as a watershed breakout gig here in Greater Manchester, Enter Shikari are set to play none other than grassroots rock bar and nightclub, Satan’s Hollow, right in the heart of the city centre.
Pretty much the life and soul of the heavier music scene here in 0161 for decades now, it remains not only a treasured small-cap venue but arguably still among thego-to post-gig spots after any hard gig; you could say Enter Shikari are simply cutting out the middle man.
It’s fair to say that a group of their size very rarely get to play rooms as tiny as this one these days, so it’s sure to be quite a rowdy one for the electronically influenced post-hardcore outfit.
Formed way back in 1999 (if you can believe that), they’re more used to selling out arena tours all over the world, including their upcoming Co-op Live gig this winter.
It’s also worth mentioning that this will be their single biggest domestic headline show to date.
But not before they go back to where it all started for them in this city, booking a certain-to-sell-out Shikari show at Satan’s Hollow – a Manchester venue they first played in 2006.
In fact, they’ve actually shared footage from that fateful night, and yes, the quality is as bad as you’d expect, but it gives you an idea of what the atmosphere was like then, let alone now their fan base has grown so much over the years.
Here’s us, almost 20 years ago, playing ‘OK Time For Plan B’ at our first ever Manchester show in @satanshollow on April 10th 2006.
Funny to think that in November, Manchester will host our biggest ever UK headline show at the @TheCoopLive. Both shows with the same promoter. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uHKVOwZbM2
Speaking on this milestone moment, the band wrote in a statement: “Manchester’s a city that means a lot to us. The Satan’s Hollow show back in April ’06 was the first sense we got that ‘something’ was ‘happening’. A queue around the block and total chaos inside.
We’ve had a lot of memorable shows in Manchester since then (and in November we’ll play our biggest ever UK headline show there!), but for some reason that night at Satan’s Hollow kept coming up in conversation, so the anniversary show was just too tempting.”
Tickets for this unmissable show will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who register HERE up until 9:30am tomorrow, Wednesday, 25 March.
The gig itself is happening on 9 April, with support from Liverpool’s very own East Exchange as support. Best of luck to all those trying to cop tickets, and hopefully we’ll see you at Satan’s.
Featured Images — Kate Hook (supplied via Chuff Media)
What's On
Gladiators Live Tour to make ‘triumphant’ return to Manchester on UK arena tour
Emily Sergeant
The Gladiators Live Tour will make a triumphant return in 2026.
Following its explosive debut in 2025 and overwhelming fan demand, the Gladiators Live Tour is set to head out on a UK tour later this year, bringing the iconic phenomenon back to arenas nationwide for an electrifying new run of shows, and making a stop off in Manchester, of course.
Audiences will, once again, have the chance to experience the action-packed spectacle featuring the stars of the hit BBC reboot series on an epic scale.
The 2025 live tour thrilled audiences nationwide, selling over 200,000 tickets and proving the arena spectacular is ‘bigger, bolder, and more electrifying’ than ever, and that energy is only set to continue this year when the show returns to Manchester’s popular AO Arena.
GLADIATORS, READY!
Following its epic debut in 2025 the triumphant live show brings the energy to Manchester on 14 & 15 Nov!
This adrenaline-fuelled event sees the legendary Gladiators storm back into the arena to face fearless contenders in a heart-pounding live adaptation of the smash-hit television phenomenon.
Expect iconic fan-favourite events, breathtaking stunts, epic head-to-head battles and the unforgettable Eliminator finale.
Featuring stars from the hit BBC series, audiences are being told to expect a truly immersive, high-octane experience, as arenas are transformed into modern gladiatorial battlegrounds complete with purpose-built sets, spectacular lighting, and cinematic staging.
The Gladiators Live Tour 2026 kicks off in Aberdeen on 10 October, before heading to other major cities like Glasgow, London, and Birmingham, as well as northern locations like Leeds and Newcastle, and of course, Manchester’s AO Arena for two nights on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November.
Tickets officially go on sale this Friday 27 March, with two shows per day available, and you can grab them when they go live here.
The Manc -
16th November 2023 
