Co-op Live incident 'was almost catastrophic'

The boss of Manchester's troubled new Co-op Live arena has described how an incident in which part of a ventilation system fell from the ceiling could have been "catastrophic" if it had happened 15 minutes later.

However, Tim Leiweke said the fittings had since been "triple checked" and he was confident it was "the safest building in the world" ahead of its latest planned opening on Tuesday.

Manchester band Elbow will play the first official show at the venue, after three attempts at opening were called off.

Last month, shows by comedian Peter Kay and rock group The Black Keys were postponed because the building wasn't ready.

Then at the start of May, an appearance by US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was cancelled at the last minute after the near miss with the ventilation duct following his soundcheck.

"If that was 15 minutes later, something catastrophic could have happened," Mr Leiweke told BBC entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson.

Mr Leiweke, chief executive of the arena's operator Oak View Group, said one of 95 pre-manufactured filters had fallen from the ceiling to the floor of the standing area inside the auditorium shortly before doors were due to open.

He said there had been "no way" they could have known it wasn't installed correctly.

"They didn't put the bolts in. It wasn't visible to the eye," he said. "And it fell out.

"So we [have since] got that double checked and triple checked. We've looked at thousands of bolts up in that ceiling now. We've looked at the life safety lines. And we were going to take our time to make sure we did this right."

The venue paused its opening for almost two weeks as a result, with shows by Take That, Olivia Rodrigo and Keane called off.

"There was no way we were opening the doors until we checked every screw and every bolt and every one of those 95 shafts."

Mr Leiweke told the BBC the total cost of Co-op Live, which is due to be the UK's biggest indoor arena with a 23,500 capacity, was now approaching £450m.

Dozens of workmen wearing high-vis jackets and hard hats were still in and around the venue on Tuesday morning.

Although Mr Leiweke insisted it would open smoothly on Tuesday, he admitted some parts may not be fully finished for six more months.

There is usually an extensive list of items to complete after a building opens, he said.

"This building will evolve over a period of time. My guess is for the next six months, we'll have guys coming in here and working on that punch list."

The arena's numerous delays and problems have made it the focus of scrutiny and ridicule, as well as causing huge upheaval for fans.

Mr Leiweke said disrupting people's lives was "what I'm most upset about and I feel worst about".

About 12,000 people are expected to attend Tuesday's Elbow show. "We are going [ahead] tonight. So everything is good," Mr Leiweke said.

He insisted it was "the greatest arena built outside of the United States", and said he wasn't worried by the fact the arena has only held one test event.

That was headlined by Rick Astley on 20 April, but thousands of people had tickets cancelled at the last minute to reduce the capacity becaue it wasn't ready.

The incident with the ventilation system happened on 1 May. No-one was injured.

The Health and Safety Executive, which is responsible for enforcing health and safety laws at construction sites, has not inspected or investigated the arena, saying the incident did not come under its reporting requirements.

Manchester City Council, which enforces health and safety at entertainment venues, said it had "received documentation that confirms that the venue has carried out the necessary investigations following the incident with their air ducting that provides reassurance that they have considered their duties under Health and Safety law".

The arena has taken five years to build, following delays in construction that were partly due to Brexit, Covid and the Manchester weather, Mr Leiweke claimed.

"I'm the first to tell you what probably anyone else in development and in construction will tell you - it is harder today to build things in the UK," he said.

"We got through Covid, we got through Brexit, we got through the rainiest season in the last 20 years. I had to put a roof on in the middle of the rain.

"All of those things ultimately had an impact. To the credit of the 10,000 people that built this arena, they stuck with it."

He also cited police requests for a specific emergency communications system, and accepted the onus on safety in Manchester following a 2017 suicide bomb at the city's other arena, which killed 22 people.

"We're under a different standard here in Manchester because of the bombing," Mr Leiweke said. "So we're very driven by safety.

"We had to put a second secure communications system in here for the police department. That came up at the last minute, but we figured it out.

"So there are things in this building that I've never had to do any place else because we are very conscientious about what happened here [in Manchester]."

The venue is a joint venture between Oak View Group, co-founded by Mr Leiweke and US music mogul Irving Azoff, and City Football Group, owned by billionaire UAE royal and deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour.

Harry Styles is among the other investors. Mr Leiweke said he'd had "a couple of conversations" with the singer in recent weeks.

"Harry was just checking in on us because he knows what we went through," he said. "And look, this was hard. So he's a good friend and a good partner, and he's cheering us on and he'll be here soon."