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.
National Trust and Pokémon team up for exclusive trading card game and trail this half term
Emily Sergeant
National Trust and Pokémon have teamed up for an exclusive trading card game and immersive trail this half term.
Families are invited to National Trust sites across the UK, including here in the North West, this upcoming May half term, as a brand-new partnership has been launched with Pokémon, and it’s bringing the widely loved brand to the great outdoors through a series of Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) Mega Evolution Trails.
The partnership is set to bring together the places the National Trust cares for and Pokémon’s spirit of play and discovery.
Exclusively designed for the National Trust, the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Trails are going to be running throughout May half term at 14 National Trust places nationwide, combining ‘imaginative play’ with ‘gentle physical activity’ inspired by Mega Evolution Pokémon.
National Trust and Pokémon have teamed up for an exclusive trading card game and trail this half term / Credit: James Dobson & Annapurna Mellor (Supplied)
Each trail point features a simple physical or creative challenge inspired by different Mega Evolution Pokémon.
From showing courage and curiosity with Darkness-type Mega Gengar ex, to unleashing energy and imagination inspired by the powerful Fire‑type Mega Charizard Y ex, the trails blend imaginative play with gentle activity.
A trail sheet will help young trainers keep track of their discoveries, and at the end of the trail, explorers can celebrate their achievement together with a photo opportunity at a Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Trail backdrop.
It’s hoped that it’ll help more families feel ‘welcome, confident, and curious’ about exploring the outdoors together.
Quarry Bank in Cheshire, Sizergh in Cumbria, and Speke Hall in Merseyside are the three National Trust sites in the North West where the new experience will be talking place.
The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Trails are exclusive to the National Trust and are included with standard National Trust admission (free for NT members).
Beyond May half term, the Mega Evolution Trails form part of a wider National Trust partnership with Pokémon, marking the first of several playful experiences for families throughout the summer holidays, kicking off in July.
Featured Image – James Dobson / National Trust (Supplied)
What's On
Manchester City turn down Old Trafford offer for FA Youth Cup final in favour of Joie Stadium
Danny Jones
Manchester City have turned down an offer from rivals Man United to hold the FA Youth Cup final at Old Trafford.
The Cityzens have instead chosen to host it themselves, only not at the Etihad Campus’ main ground, but rather the Joie Stadium.
Primarily used for City Women and the club’s EDS (elite development squad) and academy teams, the arena was formerly and simply known as The Academy Stadium, was renamed for sponsorship reasons back in 2023, and has seen several updates over the years.
Seating just a fraction of the amount possible across the city at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, the decision has disappointed many, but has been seen as a shrewd bit of gamesmanship by some, as it could effectively see any home advantage handed over to their opponents.
With this set to be the first Manchester derby FA Youth Cup in four whole decades, many supporters were hoping to go along and back their young teams in big numbers.
Proving somewhat divisive among both fan bases, with each of their under-18s squads having enjoyed promising seasons, to say the least, literally tens of thousands look set to miss out on potential tickets as a result of the announcement.
For context, the last time Man United won the coveted academy tournament – which has often served as a key first piece of silverware won by entire generations of young talent – they welcomed a record youth crowd of 67,492 in May of 2022.
In comparison, even with a sold-out stadium, the Joie would only be able to match around 10% of that figure at most.
That being said, it goes without saying that United fans have been some of the most vocal on social media following the controversial confirmation.
best two youth teams in England meeting in the FA Youth Cup final and playing them in small stadium at MCFC is such a shame. 60,000 would watch this game if it was done right.
On the day, the winning team featured the likes of now fully graduated senior stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, and Joe Hugill, along with several still-rising prospects.
Some of the starlets that lots of fans would have been looking forward to seeing live in a large and historic sporting arena include Jim Thwaites, Noah Ajayi, Kai Rooney, JJ Gabriel on the red half, and the likes of Kylan Midwood, Divine Mukasa, Stephen Mfuni, Reigan Heskey and more in the blue.
Head coach Oliver Reiss (who took over in July 2024) led his City side to the U18 Premier League North title at the start of this month; meanwhile, Darren Fletcher has returned to oversee his young Red Devils after a spell as caretaker manager of the men’s first team.
While tickets were expected to be snapped up rather quickly already for the all-Manc FA Youth Cup final, it’s now set to be a race for followers of both teams to get their hands on their respective allocations.
The Manc -
16th November 2023 
