The Manchester Evening News Arena

Just got back from the Kylie show and feel like I have just melted in the Arena. Kylie was great but it was far far too hot. The kids were sweating and I had to keep taking them out for air, so we missed some of the show.
They seriously need to sort some kind of air con or if they've got it already they need to spend some money to improve it as the heat spoilt it for us all.
Prices of soft drinks were a rip off but you need to buy them as you can't take your own in. When there are 4 of you with 2 soft drinks each it's a lot of money.

Saw Kylie on 12th July and it was just fab! We booked tickets in block 114 (lower tier, row B), and in my opinion the view could not have been any more perfect! If I go here again I would always try to get this block (or indeed the one opposite (103). I would never book in the upper tier it just looked too high up! The floor seats really are not worth it, as if someone tall is in front of you then you're screwed. The upper and lower tiers however are not that great for the less mobile having steep steps with no hand rails. Also there is this funny business of people sitting down and standing up. Luckily I was in a block with lively concert goers so had a blast dancing like a looney! I did feel for some as they sat there with their arms folded - come on peeps it's Kylie! You've paid a good deal of money to sit down? Yes it does get hot but then with thousands of people and the fact that most are dancing then you just accept that, just make sure you've got a drink handy!
All in all had a great time, and the sound quality to me was great.

Normally I would relish the thought of sharing a sauna with Kylie. Last night, however, the experience was spoiled for me and the 18,999 other people in the MEN sauna, by the heat and the diabolical sound quality.
Kylie darling: sack your sound engineer.
MEN Arena: (definitely NOT darling) Sort out your air-conditioning. Better still, knock the place down and build a proper arena geared more to customer experience than money-grabbing.
Take a lead from Liverpool's Echo Arena and Glasgow's SECC.
Biggest really doesn't mean best!

I recently saw Neil Diamond at the MEN Arena. Very good organisation and sound system excellent. Neil was fantastic! Great idea to have plastic bottles of wine.

I went to see Westlife last night 04/06/08. It was a great concert if you wanted to hear it clearly from Cheetham Hill. I love loud music, but the distortion was really bad. The girl group before were clear as a bell. I think the sound mixer needs either sacking or his ears testing.

I went with my granddaughter to see Celine Dion. The show was magnificent BUT as a disabled person the arena is dangerous and not disabled friendly at all. The men in yellow are not very good either. A fight broke out behind us after someone threw beer over the man behind and over me too. The container was plastic, thank goodness as it hit me. I tried to get the staff to come and stop the fight, one man was bleeding. The staff just sat looking at what was going on. All this was due to drink. WHY sell alcohol all through a show like that. You should not serve alcohol at all it always causes trouble. This ruined the most amazing night of my life and it's a night I can never afford to repeat. All this through greed. You must make a huge profit on the tickets alone.

We just went to see Celion Dion and it was an amazing performance. The only problem was we had front row seats which were really good except the stairs down are so dangerous. There was no railing so my wife had to take her shoes off and many older people were being almost carried out. I am surprised no one has been killed trying to get down them.

Went to see Clubland Live at the men arena and it was brilliant.

March 2008 - Elton John has announced that his Las Vegas show, Elton John The Red Piano, will come to England later this year. Shows will be held at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena on November 19, the Liverpool Echo Arena on December 17, and the MEN Arena on December 20.

Last night (22/12/07) I went to see Take That at the Arena. They were absolutely fantastic and put on an amazing show.
The only problem was the seats in the upper tier. I had a brilliant view don't get me wrong but it was like sitting on a cliff face. If you have any kind of phobia of heights do not book for these seats as they are really horrible. I don't really have a height phobia (or so I thought) but I didn't like these seats. The problem was that the people in front are level with your feet so it feels as though you are standing on a ledge a million feet up in the air. It doesn't help that you can't see the block below either as it looks as though there is just a sheer drop to the floor. Luckily customer services changed our seats as there were some restricted viewing seats left which were in the lower tier and were actually closer and not really restricted at all. It actually turned out that the majority of our new block had all been moved from various high seats around the arena so it wasn't just us!
Like I say if you have no fear of heights the view is brilliant you can see everything but be warned it is extra high and you may develop a sudden fear of heights like I did.

I went to see Take that at the Arena on Saturday night and it has to be the most spectacular pop concert I have ever been to. However, it was spoilt by loud mouthed yobs who were tripping backwards and forwards to the bar all night. Does the bar have to be open during the performance because all that happened was that they got louder and louder and more obnoctious with every drink.

Nov 2007 - Australian singer Kylie Minogue has announced a European tour next summer that will include two dates at the MEN Arena (July 14 and 15). She will perform past hits and songs from her new album X. Tickets go on sale December 3 2007.

I went to see Mcfly at the MEN on Friday and they were brilliant.

Due to overwhelming demand Boyzone have added an extra date to the Manchester leg of their UK tour. In addition to the concert on June 13 2008, they will also appear at the MEN Arena on June 14.

Girls Aloud will perform in Manchester and Liverpool next year as part of their Tangled Up Tour. The British girl group will appear at the Liverpool Echo Arena on May 30 2008 and at the MEN Arena the following night.

Dublin boy band Boyzone are reuniting for a UK tour next summer that includes appearances in at the MEN Arena on June 13 and the new Liverpool Echo Arena on June 15. All five original members of the band will join the tour including front man Ronan Keating. Tickets go on sale November 19.

The Spice Girls have added two concerts in Manchester to their world tour. The reunited group will perform at the Manchester Evening News Arena on January 23 and 24 2008. Tickets go on sale Friday October 26 and are expected to sell out in minutes.

The Manchester Evening News Arena has been named as the top selling concert venue in the world. Pollstar, the international music trade publication, lists the MEN Arena first in its survey of the busiest concert venues for the first half of 2007. Ticket sales at the MEN Arena for the period were 604,662. Second place went to Madison Square Garden in New York with 579,511 ticket sales.

The Scissor Sisters gig was fantastic. Many of the crowd went dressed up special and it was a really good atmosphere.

i am going to see beyonce on the 7th june 2007 i was wondering if u are allowed to bring camera phones or any camera only i know that at other arenas ppl do take pictures plus i need to know how to get to the seats provided as im at the top floor of manchester evening news arena

Beware of bogus car park officials when you go to the MEN arena. On your way you'll see lots of guys dressed up like official attendants trying to flag you into their car parks. They are just criminals who have taken over office car parks at night. Don't give them your money.

Justin Timberlake was just awesome. Go if you can still get tickets!

Hi everyone - I have tickets to see Meat Loaf on the 10th of May. I'm very excited but also a nervous wreck as I have ground floor seats and I am worried about how to access them and the facilities available at the ground floor level. I have a very bad phobia heights and I am unable to walk down all of the stairs from the top of the first tier to the floor. I've been told to ask staff to point out a lift and I should be able to access the floor that way, though I am worried that the staff will see that I am not disabled and won't let me use it. Also, once on the ground floor are there toliets and food stands outside in the hallway? I will be so relieved one in my seat but the thought of having to go back up on a higher level to use the toliet has me worried as well. Any information would be so greatly appreciated.
Thanks

P.S Also I'd advise you to get there early as finding your seat can be pretty hectic with 19,000 people already there so get there earlier than the time suggested on your ticket enjoy! :)

I have to say I had never been to a concert before and I'm 16 but I went to see My Chemical Romance on the 24th of March this year and it was the best thing I've ever done! Since then I'm now going to 4 more events here. Seriously if you get the chance to go, definitely do it. Even if you don't like who will be playing there the atmosphere is immense! It's my favourite place to go! :) I'm going again on Thursday night to see Lostprophets :).

Andy Rourke's Versus Cancer concert the other night was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Such a worthy cause. Thanks very much Andy and hope you can pull it off again next year.

It's not a good idea to use the car park at the MEN arena. It is an absolute nightmare trying to get out at night. It's better to use one a little further away (e.g. Chorlton Street) and walk.

Babyshambles have just announced they will be playing a concert here on November 22.

Andy Rourke of the Smiths is organising a concert for cancer at the MEN Arena on March 30. Acts scheduled to appear include Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, Ian Brown, The Charlatans and Echo and the Bunnymen.

The Police have added a second date to their tour and will now appear at the Manchester Evening News Arena on October 15 & 16.