Manchester City’s immersive entertainment venue set to be approved

Councillors will make a decision on the plans.

Manchester City’s plan to build a 600-person capacity immersive entertainment venue next to the Etihad Stadium is set to be approved next week.

The planning application is due to be decided at a council meeting on June 11, and has been recommended to get the go-ahead.

It would be situated next to the Etihad Stadium and Co-op Live as the latest addition to the wider Etihad Campus.

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Plans for the new venue were submitted earlier this year, and approval next week looks set to open the way for it to host a Manchester production of the interactive Mamma Mia! The Party experience.

The concept of the venue is to create an immersive, themed, live-entertainment space and dining experience for the city.

The planning report stated: ‘It would be the second of its kind in the UK, with the only other venue being found in London.’

The venue has been tipped to bring major benefits to Manchester if approved.

Manchester council added in their report: ‘The venue would contribute to Manchester’s reputation as a vibrant city, attracting visitors and supporting tourism. It would be open throughout the year, creating around 150 jobs.’

The location has been praised for being ‘highly accessible’, with tram and bus stops nearby alongside walking and cycling routes.

Planning reports explained: ‘Highway services are satisfied that the traffic management arrangements already in place for the Stadium and Arena are adequate to manage the traffic impacts from this proposal subject to a full travel plan, event management plan and an egress and dispersal management plan.’

The venue would also have an ‘early doors policy’ and operate staggered dispersal times to minimise crowding.

However, it was suggested that ‘additional management measures’ would be needed on days where events take place at the stadium, arena, and the proposed venue at the same time.

This includes monitoring congestion levels, overseeing pedestrian movements at the junction of Joe Mercer Way and Sport City Way, and monitoring the south side of Alan Turing Way.

Manchester City’s proposals would offer a theatrical dining experience for up to 600 guests per show at the venue, with the club working alongside Pophouse Entertainment.

The theatre would sit next to the 401-room Medlock Hotel, a partnership with Radisson Blu Hotel Group, which is set to open its doors later this year.

A £300m entertainment zone next to the Etihad Stadium will be known as Medlock Square.

The 3,000-capacity entertainment zone has been billed as a ‘year-round hub for culture, leisure and entertainment’, and is set to include bars, restaurants and cafes, a sky-walk, giving views over the Manchester skyline, a zip-wire and a three storey office block.

The club also recently opened its newly expanded north stand, which has increased the capacity of the Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000.

The newly developed north stand has been renamed ‘The Pep Guardiola Stand’ by the club, in recognition of their previous manager.

Commenting on the Club’s planning application for the theatre space, Danny Wilson, the managing director of Manchester City Operations, said in March: “Working with Pophouse, the Club’s latest proposal to further develop the Etihad Campus is an incredibly exciting opportunity for both East Manchester and the wider city more generally.

“We know there is ever increasing demand for more immersive, entertainment experiences in the North of England and we are incredibly proud to have put forward plans for consideration by Manchester City Council to bring a world-renowned event to Manchester’s newest entertainment destination, Medlock Square.”