The man behind Co-op Live has revealed exactly why the opening of Manchester's new arena has been delayed again. In an exclusive interview with the
Manchester Evening News, Tim Leiweke explained why the £365m venue has
pushed back Peter Kay's two performances for a second time and rescheduled The Black Keys' show tomorrow (April 27).
The
Bolton comedian's official opening show was supposed to take place on Tuesday (April 23). But with just one day to go,
it was postponed to a week later. Now, the two Peter Kay gigs are set to take place on Thursday, 23 May and Friday, 24 May, while a performance by The Black Keys scheduled for Saturday (April 27) has been moved to May 15.
Mr Leiweke, who is the managing director at the American Oak View Group, told the M.E.N. he is confident the 23,500 capacity arena will be ready for Olivia Rodrigo's two nights starting on Friday (May 3). That will follow a performance by Boogie Wit Da Hoodie planned for Wednesday (May 1), at which the upper tiers will be closed.
The Co-op Live boss blamed Brexit, Covid and a record amount of rainfall for the delays to the construction of, what he describes as, 'the best arena outside of North America'. He admitted the company knew the deadline for the original opening show by Peter Kay scheduled for Tuesday (April 23) would be 'tight' as some testing still had to be completed.
Mr Leiweke said bosses at the new venue discovered there was still 'a lot of work to do' following a test event on Saturday (April 20), which saw Rick Astley take to the stage. Hours before the event,
ticket holders were told the capacity had been cut from around 11,000 to 4,000, with some offered tickets to see The Black Keys instead.
It came after
concerns were raised by police and the fire service when tests took place. The M.E.N
. understands Greater Manchester Police was not satisfied with the strength and reach of the radio system inside the venue.
A GMP spokesperson told the M.E.N. the force raised the importance of suitable coverage for emergency services communication in 2023. The force added that this month, it found the coverage is still not sufficient.
Mr Leiweke told the M.E.N. that in the last three weeks, GMP requested a special radio system be installed to overcome the issue. The venue's boss said he personally called the president of Motorola in the US to find a solution.
He said: "The biggest bugaboo has been the request on a special radio system that is for the police only on their system. And so, this is something we've spent the last couple of weeks trying to get definition. Once we got definition, literally, I called the president of Motorola in Chicago and said, 'I got a problem, I need to find it in a day'.
"It's here today and getting installed, and then we'll test it. But we've agreed with the police to let them test it. Now, that was a bit of a curveball for us. That wasn't something that people were telling us three years ago, or two years ago, or a year ago.
"We're good. We get why the police want it. We're the only arena in the UK that will have this exclusive secure line just for the police department. But it takes a couple of extra days.
"Out of an abundance of caution, I don't want to install it and then hope it works tomorrow. So let's install it and give ourselves two days to test it.
"The police are grateful for that. As much as everyone's saying we're at odds with them, we're not. We are giving them what they want.
"That's a temporary solution and then we're going to work on the long-term solution. But that temporary solution, again, is the most technologically advanced radio system in any arena anywhere in the UK and no one has it - including the AO.
"It takes time. When you build something like this, when it's the biggest arena in the world, you're going to have a few hiccups."
Mr Leiweke said the fire service also asked for 'another couple of extra days' to complete testing at the new venue. He explained that one of the health and safety features of the building that still needs to be tested is the emergency opening of all of the doors around the venue, which relies on the airflow system popping them open.
He said: "We've got the fire alarms, we've got the CCTVs, we've got the command centre which ultimately has to be up and operating - which it is. They would prefer that we spend a couple of more days and not be in a situation where today at 5 o'clock we cancel tomorrow."
Mr Leiweke thanked the artists for agreeing to reschedule at such short notice. He told the M.E.N. The Black Keys, who were supposed to perform tomorrow (April 27), will now come to Co-op Live at the end of their UK tour.
He praised Peter Kay, who is not currently on tour, for his 'very good sense of humour', claiming the Bolton comedian backed the venue and did not want to risk postponing his performance at short notice again. However, Mr Leiweke said he is confident Oliva Rodrigo's two concerts starting on Friday (May 3) will go ahead.
He said: "We've looked at this a hundred different ways in the last 24 hours. She's good. We'll deal with any issues that arise. Do I expect that we will be at full capacity next Friday? Yes. So [do] the police, so does the fire department, so does our contractor BAM and SES, which is our electrical contractor."
Mr Leiweke also revealed three stands will be 'nicely' boarded up when the venue opens and are set to be completed in the next phase of construction. Responding to claims some toilets are still not operational, he said that some will still not have water while the building is being tested, but they will be up and running by Friday.
Mr Leiweke is confident the venue will be ready by next week (Image: Manchester Evening News)
The venue previously said the issues that led to Peter Kay's performance being postponed were related to the power. The M.E.N. was told by one contractor electricians were behind schedule, causing knock-on delays.
Asked about these delays, Mr Leiweke said he had 'nothing but nice things to say' about the 10,000 people working on the project. But he told the M.E.N. a lead contractor was crying last night 'because he felt he let us down'.
He said: "I've got 10,000 people who've worked on this project. 10,000. A lot of people, emotionally, have put a lot into this. A lot of us have staked our careers, and our company on this.
"We have contingencies. We're not going to need it for Olivia [Rodrigo]. We will open up next Friday."
The M.E.N. understands a completion certificate is yet to be issued by Manchester council's building control team. That can only be issued once construction is complete, but the venue can open to the public before that.
The venue was originally supposed to open at the start of the year, before pushing back the opening back to April (Image: Manchester Evening News)
Mr Leiweke said inspectors are going through the building today (Friday, April 26) and tomorrow with a 600-point 'punch list'. But he said some of the items on this list may not be checked off for another six months to a year.
He said: "Every building I've ever opened, we've had a punch list of as long as 10,000 items. Some of it's easy like paint. Some of it's a little more complicated like lighting systems."
The venue was initially scheduled to open at the start of this year, but the opening was postponed to April. Mr Leiweke said this was down to workforce shortages, which he blamed on Brexit, and disruption caused by Covid.
He said:
"That is the thing surprised me the most. Finding skilled labour is a lot harder to do right now in the UK than it was before Brexit. When I built the O2, we still had issues trying to fill the jobs, but Brexit has had a remarkable impact on the skilled trades craftsmen. So the double shifts are harder to do quite frankly right now."
In a joint statement, Manchester council,
Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, North West Ambulance Service said: "As a whole group we support the decision of Co-op Live to step down the event tomorrow, and we will continue to work together as they move to completion.
"We have discussed with the Co-op Live venue this week the actions that they needed to take ahead of their planned public opening and while a considerable amount of work has taken place, and learning taken from last week’s test event, we all agree that there is more to complete before the venue can welcome audiences safely.
"Whilst we understand this will be disappointing, we cannot compromise on public safety. Our focus is, and always will be, the wellbeing of residents and visitors to our city. Following last Saturday’s test event, where temporary mitigations were put in place, we were assured that our concerns about the venue would be addressed before a public opening. That work is continuing as they move to welcoming events with larger audience numbers.
"The elements outstanding include a fully tested emergency services communication system, and some remaining internal security systems, and fire safety measures. Work is progressing quickly in all of these areas, and all partners involved look forward to the venue being open and able to welcome guests safely once they are completed."
Speaking on behalf of all emergency services, a GMP spokesperson told the M.E.N: "Emergency services raised the importance of ensuring the provision of suitable coverage for emergency services communication in 2023. The most recent testing has been taking place this month and has indicated that coverage is not yet sufficient to meet our safety needs. Work on resolving this is currently taking place and we are confident that it will be resolved soon."
