Boss of new £350m arena quits after Peter Kay shows were cancelled

• Gary Roden, general manager of the Co-op Live Arena, resigned on Thursday

The boss of the soon-to-be biggest music venue in the UK has quit after a slew of issues led to a delay in opening.

Gary Roden, general manager of the £365m Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, resigned on Thursday.

The venue had been due to open on April 23 and is expected to compete with the 02 Arena for the some of the world’s biggest sporting and music events.

But headaches for the arena, which is next door to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, became patently clear after capacity for a test event last Saturday was reduced with just hours’ notice due to power issues.

Bolton comedian Peter Kay’s opening shows at the 23,500-seat venue were also cancelled.

In addition, Mr Roden was accused of being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘disingenuous’ after claiming that grassroots music venues were often ‘poorly run’.

The shows were set to be the grand opening act for the Co-Op Live Arena, but there is still work to be completed on the venue

The new music venue is the biggest indoor arena in the UK and it is situated next to Manchester City’s Etihad stadium. There is still building work going on at the venue

The comedian was due to perform at the brand new venue on April 23 and 24, but the shows have now been postponed to 29th and 30th April respectively

The former general manager of Manchester’s troubled new Co-op Live arena Gary Roden

A statement from the arena said it did not ‘share the sentiment’ expressed by its now-former general manager and that ‘Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond’.

READ MORE: Peter Kay is forced to cancel two shows on the Manchester leg of his tour with less than 24 hours notice

The statement also thanked Mr Roden for his ‘help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future’.

Rebecca Kane Burton, an ex-boss of London’s O2 Arena, will step in as interim general manager.

The Music Venue Trust hit out at Mr Roden in a statement of its own, telling NME that grassroots music venues were not ‘poorly run’, and it was ‘disrespectful and disingenuous to suggest otherwise’.

They said: ‘Obviously, the irony of making ill-judged, unnecessary and misleading comments about grassroots music venues on the day that the launch of their new arena has unfortunately fallen into such difficulties is not lost on anyone in the music industry, on artists, or on audiences.’

On Kay’s shows, the arena announced that his performances would instead take place on April 29 and 30, with the comedian saying he was ‘truly gutted’ by the delay.

In a statement posted on X by Co-op Live, Kay said: ‘I’m truly gutted as I know how disappointing this will be for everyone with tickets, but obviously it’s a brand-new venue and it’s important that everything is finished and safe for full capacity audiences.

‘Fortunately we’ve been able to reschedule the shows to next week, (I’ll have to miss my Bums and Tums class) but hopefully I’ll see you then.’

The Co-op Live arena could rival The 02 Arena for the world’s biggest boxing and UFC events (Photo: Artist impressions when the plans for the venue were unveiled)

The £350M venue will boast a whopping 23,500 seats and will hold 120 events per year (Photo: Artist impression of venue interior)

The venue is currently expected to open with US rock band The Black Keys on Saturday in front of a reduced capacity crowd of 10,000.

Ahead of that show, it is understood venue bosses are working to satisfy various agencies on concerns around safety.

Photos of the venue from Tuesday also showed some construction work still taking place. The main car park for the arena also appeared to be a storage area for building materials.

A spokesman for the arena said: ‘It is critical to ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue, the completion of which is a few days behind.

‘Rescheduling gives us the extra time we need to continue testing thoroughly.

‘This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size.’

The venue, built by developer the Oak View Group, was given planning permission in 2020 and boasted an investment from popstar Harry Styles.

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