Manchester Arena
Exterior of the arena in 2019, seen from the north | |
| Former names | NYNEX Arena (1995–1998) Manchester Evening News Arena (1998–2011) Phones 4u Arena (2013–2015) Manchester Arena (2015–2020) |
|---|---|
| Address | Victoria Station Manchester M3 1AR |
| Location | Manchester, England, UK |
| Coordinates | 53°29′17″N 2°14′38″W / 53.48806°N 2.24389°W |
| Public transit | Manchester Victoria |
| Owner | Mansford |
| Operator | ASM Global |
| Capacity | 21,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 1993 |
| Opened | 15 July 1995 |
| Closed | 22 May 2017 |
| Reopened | 9 September 2017 |
| Construction cost | £52 million (£134 million in 2025 pounds) |
| Architect | DLA Design, Austin-Smith:Lord and Ellerbe Becket |
| Structural engineer | Arup Group Limited |
| Tenants | |
| Manchester Giants (BBL) (1995–2001) Manchester Storm (BISL, BJL) (1995–2002) Manchester Phoenix (EIHL) (2003–2004) | |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
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Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Prior to the opening of Co-op Live, the arena had the highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, and is the fourth-largest in Europe with a capacity of 21,000.
The arena is one of the world's busiest indoor arenas, hosting music and sporting events such as boxing and swimming. The arena was a key part of Manchester's bids to host the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000 and was eventually used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
On 22 May 2017, the arena's foyer was the scene of a terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber, in which 22 people were killed and over 500 others injured following an Ariana Grande concert.