Arena, Manchester

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Manchester Arena is the main concert arena in Manchester and the largest concert arena in Europe. It has had many names over the years depending on who is the sponsor. Before being called the Manchester Arena it was called the Manchester Evening News Arena or the MEN Arena. The most popular musicans, singers or shows will most likely be performing on a Friday or Saturday night. These are usually the big budget shows and are amazing to see. Tickets for shows can be bought online, by phone or at the box office at the arena.

Car parking prices at the arena is extortionate. On a Friday and Saturday night it costs £15.00, across the road from the arena, just 1 minute walk away is another car park which costs £7.00 and if you walk a bit further it will be even cheaper.

Video cameras are not allowed in the arena but handheld cameras are allowed.
Food and drinks can be purchased inside but are quite expensive.

At the back entrance to the stadium is a metro station so you can get straight on the metro after the concert to your hotel.

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This is where you will mainly find the 'big names' in Manchester. I'm referring to singers, bands, duo's, comedians, acts and sports games.
The Arena can be fully seated or partly seated/partly standing. It has a capacity of 21,000. Each artist/team etc. has a different layout and seating plan for what they are preforming.

The prices of drinks and snacks are silly (very expensive). There is usually some kind of memorabilia on sale - T-shirts, posters, keyrings etc. Again, priced higher than average, but, if you want that particular t-shirt; it's worth the money.

I've been to the M.E.N on a number of occasions, I've seen Pink, Peter Kay, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, a circ de soleil and The Blue Man Group.

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The Manchester Arena is an indoor Arena located in the City Centre.The Arena is situated on Hunts Bank and is connected to Victoria Station.The Arena opened in 1995 and was sponsered by NYNEX CableComms as the NYNEX Arena and was renamed the Manchester Evening News Arena in 1998,MEN Arena was it most used name.The Evening news ended its 13 year sponsership in 2011 and again the building changed its name to the Manchester Arena or MCR Arena.It is the largest indoor arena in the European Union with a capacity of 21,000 and is one of the World's busiest arena's hosting a variety of music,sport and cultural events.It was a key part of Manchester's bid to host the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000 and was eventually used in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

There's always a concert on in Manchester, whether it's at the MEN, the Apollo, the Academy... Plenty of different music to suit different tastes, I've seen Snow Patrol at both the Appollo and the MEN and both are great venues, although you can't beat the MEN for convenience... It's right in the train station!

The MEN (Manchester Evening News Arena)is in a great spot, right next to Victoria train station in the centre of the city and a few minutes walk from the Travel Lodge Hotel I was staying in.

A huge venue, I was there to see a concert.
Acoustics seemed good to me and the view from the floor in front of the stage couldn't be beaten.
( I have heard it is also a good place to watch sporting events such as boxing)

Drinks and snacks where quite expensive but I guess that is to be expected.

But, the thing that impressed me was the huge amount of toilets - ladies, you will not have to queue here!

The Manchester Evening News Arena, Europe’s largest indoor concert venue, which plays host to some of the biggest names in the entertainment world.

Hop on any Bury bound tram to Manchester Victoria station or travelling from Bury board any service alighting at Manchester Victoria. Passengers wishing to travel from Eccles should change to Bury service at Cornbrook.