Roxy Ball Room has announced plans to reopen its Manchester city centre venues over the next couple of weeks – and there’s some new gaming options and a brand new seated terrace on the way.
Now that ‘Step Two’ in the government’s roadmap to lifting England’s current national lockdown has commenced – which crucially allows hospitality businesses to reopen for outdoor service – Roxy Ball Room has announced it will be opening a brand new seated terrace at its Withy Grove site in Manchester this Thursday.
Both of its city centre venues will then open indoors as soon as restrictions lift on 17th May.
Roxy opened its second adults-only entertainment venue in the city centre last October at the Manchester Arndale amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, taking over the 17,000 sq ft former Birdcage site to create the ultimate over 18s playground.
The outdoor space will be a new addition to the venue, with Roxy’s pizza and drinks menu to be served on the purpose built terrace this spring.
The newest Roxy Ball Room venue at Manchester Arndale – which spans the vast open plan, ground floor unit and is kitted out in the brand’s signature style with UV graffiti wall paintings, all set to an indie rock soundtrack – boasts six full-size bowling lanes and twelve holes of Roxy’s newly-launched game, Crazy Pool.
There’s also been a Bank Shot Shuffleboard game added to its range of entertainment options while the venue has been closed to the public.
Roxy Ball Room
Both Roxy venues will relaunch with a popular selection of games, including American Pool, Shuffleboard, Olympic standard Ping Pong tables, and Beer Pong battle stations, plus arcade games galore.
As well as the many gaming opportunities, Roxy also offers an American-style food menu with a huge choice of dishes, including loaded nachos, chicken wings and burgers, as well as stone-baked pizzas.
There are vegetarian and vegan options available as well.
The bars boast an extensive draught beer and cider range, with up to sixteen draught lines – including local craft beers – on offer at any time, and there’s also a full new cocktail menu with a range of classic and signature cocktails at just £7.50 each.
Speaking on the Roxy reopening plans, Joel Mitchell – Brand Development Manager at Roxy Ball Room – said: “Our newest venue was only open for a few weeks last year before restrictions meant we needed to close again, and so this feels like a relaunch for us [and] we can’t wait to welcome our fans back.
“We pride ourselves on offering a fun environment for our customers and staff to enjoy.
“We want to reassure customers that the Roxy Ball Room experience will be safe, but uncompromised, [and] it goes without saying that our venues and staff have undertaken and implemented rigorous risk assessments and hygiene measures across each Roxy Ball Room”.
Roxy Ball Room is currently accepting bookings for up to six guests from 17th May.
All games can be pre-booked, and there will be enhanced cleaning between all games. Guests will be able to order food and drink via the QR code on every gaming table, drinking table, and beer pong table, with orders brought to customers by staff in PPE.
Rochdale will be hosting its FIRST EVER comedy festival later this year
Thomas Melia
There’s a comedy festival making its way to Rochdale for the first time ever, and it’s taking place over 10 days this autumn.
Rochdale is preparing for barrels of laughter, as the borough is about to host a comedy festival as part of its events programme for being crowned Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025-26.
The line-up features some well-renowned names in thecomedy world, many of whom have received awards and recognition along the way.
You can expect appearances from Lou Conran, who features as a regular support act for Sarah Millican, Tez Ilyas, from ‘Man Like Mobeen’, and TV comedy legend Mick Miller. There’s even some Britain’s Got Talent alumni in the form of last year’s finalist Alex Mitchell and 2017 semi-finalist Jonny Awsum.
Tez Ilyaz, Lou Conran and Brennan Reece are just some of the acts listed for Rochdale Comedy Festival / Credit: Supplied
Edinburgh Festival favourite Patrick Monahan will be performing along with English comedian of the year Rob Mullholland, Aaron Wood – named by Rolling Stone UK as one of the 12 rising comedy stars to see at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, and comedy musician Alex Camp.
The lineup also includes Robin Ince, co-host and creator of Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage, and a whole host of other stand-up acts who are all gearing up ready to make Rochdale giggle.
“Us northerners are famous for our sense of humour and there’s a big appetite for comedy,” commented Councillor Sue Smith, who is the cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council.
Rochdale Comedy Festival has an array of comedians taking part including Jonny Awsum and Daisy Earl / Credit: Supplied
“I’m happy to see Rochdale Comedy Festival launching during our year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture.
“It will bring together communities and give new comedians a chance to shine.”
So whether you’re in need of a cheer up, or you’re a comedy aficionado, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to crack a smile at Rochdale Comedy Festival, as it’s happening across 10 days from 26 September to 5 October in various venues across the Greater Manchester borough.
Featured Images – Supplied (via Publicity Pictures)
What's On
Salford Red Devils supporters group outline plans for the next major protest march
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils supporters trust, The 1873, have outlined details of their next major march in protest over the club’s well-publicised ownership troubles and financial crisis.
The fan group, which has mobilised on multiple occasions already this year, is set to hit the streets once again this month and in larger numbers than ever, confirming another big demonstration before their next home game this weekend.
Sharing the update with fellow Red Devils on social media, 1837 leaders are demanding “truth and accountability from the top” ahead of the peaceful protest through Salford.
They have dubbed the event ‘The Last Rally’, but we can only assume there’ll be more fan action as the weeks and possibly months of uncertainty continue.
As you can see, The 1837 are calling for like-minded supporters to rally outside another nearby amateur rugby league football team, Salford City Roosters, before marching on to a second meeting point and, ultimately, the Salford Community Stadium.
Starting in Eccles, with a stop at Barley Farm, before arriving at their club’s home ground in Barton-upon-Irwell, the plan is to gather as much awareness, support and local attention as possible.
Writing in the caption of the above post, they added: “We’ve dominated headlines. We’ve exposed bad ownership. We’ve stood together.
“A history worth fighting for. A future worth protecting. Our last chance to be heard. Don’t stay silent. Make it count.”
Following a recent meeting of the RFL and the two Greater Manchester Mayors, Andy Burnham and Paul Dennett, Salford Red Devils were given somewhat of an even further stay of execution, as it was confirmed that their ‘winding up’/administration deadline has now been adjourned until October.
Nevertheless, the majority of fans are still being kept in the dark about the exact and up-to-date nature of their rugby league club’s situation at present.
Back in June, it looked like new investors could very well still be injecting vital funds to keep key players and staff on the books, but jump to now, and it looks like they don’t know if even things like the big screen even belong to them much longer.
Salford Red Devils aren’t just in debt – our very identity is up for grabs.
The badge. The name. Even the big screen. All signed off as collateral to financiers.
Once again, the march and peaceful protest will take place this Friday, 19 September, prior to the next fixture against Wakefield Trinity.
Getting points on the board will no doubt be a big plus for all, but the game looks like it will very much serve as the backdrop to the wider ongoing saga.
Are you a Red Devils fan, and if so, will you be attending the demonstration? Better still, even if not, what do you make of the circumstances surrounding your side at the moment?
Fantastic to see the fans turn out again, Salford Red Devils will never die 1873 👹🏉 pic.twitter.com/Gne5peQK6u
Emily Sergeant -
20th April 2021 
