Boss of Manchester's Co-Op Live Arena resigns after unfinished venue postpones Peter Kay dates

The boss of the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester has resigned from his post after the venue was forced to postpone its opening.

General manager Gary Roden has left his role at the venue, days after tour dates by Bolton comedian Peter Kay were cancelled due to the new venue being incomplete. It comes after Mr Roden made comments to the BBC in which he said that small, grassroots venues are often “poorly run”.

The Music Venue Trust hit out at Mr Roden’s comments, telling NME: “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.”

A statement from the venue shared to the BBC said that it does not “share the sentiment” of Mr Roden, adding: “Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond”. The arena, which has now appointed ex London 02 boss Rebecca Kane Burton as interim general manager, also thanked the former general manager for his “help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future”.

Peter Kay had been due to perform at the Co-Op Live Arena on Tuesday, April 23 and Wednesday, April 24 as the first official act to open the venue. However, these dates have been postponed until April 29 and April 30.

He said in a statement: "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."

A handful of tickets were also cancelled for a test event which took place on Saturday, April 20. US rock band The Black Keys are now due to play the opening night of the venue, which will hold 23,500 people when fully open, on April 27. However a crowd of only 10,000 people will be permitted to "continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations".

Other acts scheduled to make appearances at the venue over the coming year include Olivia Rodrigo, Take That, Nicki Minaj and Justin Timberlake. The arena was given planning permission in 2020 and was also boasted by an investment from musician Harry Styles. The venue itself was build by developer the Oak View Group.