Co-op Live appoints director of booking
The UK’s largest arena Co-op Live has announced that NEC Group veteran Ben Sharman is joining the Manchester venue as its new director of booking.
Sharman’s arrival coincides with Co-op Live director of strategic programming, Katie Musham’s move into Oak View Group International, where she will continue to grow Co-op Live’s programme of bespoke events and support OVG in its expansion across Europe and the rest of the world.
With over a decade of experience in the live events and entertainment industry, Sharman’s achievements include account managing British Athletics’ commercial partners in advance of the London 2012 Olympic Games and securing major sponsorships for Aston Villa Football Club in the Premier League.
He joined the commercial partnerships department at the NEC Group in 2014, transitioning into arena programming in 2017. In late 2022, he was promoted to head of programming for Utilita Arena Birmingham and bp pulse LIVE.
Sharman led the arenas to record-breaking financial success including programming tours such as Genesis’ The Last Domino? Tour and Peter Kay’s Better Late Than Never tour, as well as delivering the 2022 Concert for Ukraine, which raised £13 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee.
“When the opportunity to work with the UK’s largest arena came, it was impossible to turn down”
“Joining Oak View Group and Co-op Live marks an exciting new chapter in my career after an incredible 11 years at the NEC Group, for which I’m deeply grateful,” says Sharman.
“When the opportunity to work with the UK’s largest arena came, it was impossible to turn down. I’m eager to bring my experience in venue programming and strong industry relationships to cement Co-op Live’s status as a must-play venue in the global live events industry.”
Gary Hutchinson, executive vice president global touring and content, Oak View Group International adds: “We are delighted to welcome Ben Sharman to Co-op Live. His impressive career trajectory, unmatched expertise, and industry relationships make him the perfect choice to lead our booking strategy. We’re confident that Ben’s vision will further elevate Co-op Live as a premier destination for world-class events, and continue our established record for hosting the world’s most exceptional artists.”
Sharman’s appointment comes after NEC Group veteran Guy Dunstan was enlisted as Co-op Live’s new general manager and SVP.
Dunstan took the helm on 21 October as the interim general manager Rebecca Kane Burton became EVP of venue management for OVG International.
In 2025, Co-op Live is set to welcome a host of global talents such as Sabrina Carpenter, Tyler, the Creator, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Hans Zimmer, and more.
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OVG’s Jessica Koravos on Manchester’s Co-op Live
Oak View Group (OVG) International president Jessica Koravos has previewed the company’s new Manchester venue Co-op Live ahead of its hotly-anticipated opening next week.
A joint venture between OVG and City Football Group (CFG), the 23,500-cap development will become the UK’s largest arena when it launches at Etihad Campus, the site of Manchester City FC’s Etihad Stadium, on 23 April. Harry Styles has also invested in the project.
Speaking to IQ, Koravos says the “music-first” arena – which boasts an innovative bowl design and state-of-the-art acoustics – will give the UK “one of the best music venues in the world”.
“The only reason I say ‘one of’ is because my boss, [OVG MD] Tim Leiweke, will get very angry if I say it’s the best, because we’ve built some other very good music venues in the US,” she says. “But given that we haven’t had to make any of the kinds of compromises around basketball or ice hockey that maybe North American buildings have to make, I feel like it is going to be the best arena for music in the world.
“For whatever reason, the rest of the venues in the UK, for the most part, are designed around North American sports despite there being a very limited audience for those. We have the biggest standing floor and our back seat on the top row is actually 24 metres closer to the stage then at other venues. There’s not a bad seat in the house, so that’s another big selling point.”
“Manchester has revolutionised itself over the last 20 years and is a top cultural destination in its own right”
Koravos indicates that OVG’s decision to move into Manchester was at least partly influenced by statistics.
“From the late 1990s onwards, Manchester has punched way above its weight and sold more music tickets than many other cities with much bigger populations,” she explains. “And so it was an obvious market that we felt was underserved by its current infrastructure, with a lot of room to expand. And just as a city, Manchester has revolutionised itself over the last 20 years and is a top cultural destination in its own right.”
Comedian Peter Kay will kick-off Co-op Live’s star-studded opening lineup, with The Black Keys set to be the first music act to tread the boards on 27 April.
“Those two Peter Kay shows actually broke the Co-op presale record,” notes Koravos. “There have been 60 onsales to date and that’s been the biggest response. Peter Kay is just loved in the UK and in Manchester in particular. I believe he’s actually the top selling act in the UK currently and so we could think of no better start.”
Other highlights from its first few months include residencies by Take That, Eagles, Liam Gallagher and The Killers, exclusive arena dates with Pearl Jam and Stevie Nicks, plus shows by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Nicki Minaj, Jonas Brothers, Kings of Leon, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Eric Clapton, Pet Shop Boys and Megan thee Stallion.
“We are absolutely thrilled to see the number of artists that are doing two, three, four, or even five or six nights at Co-op Live”
“It was the hope that we would attract multi-night residencies, but it had not been the case traditionally in Manchester before Co-op Live, so we are absolutely thrilled to see the number of artists that are doing two, three, four, or even five or six nights at Co-op Live,” says Koravos. “It really vindicates our hopes for the market. But it’s the artists’ decision, so we’re thrilled they are showing their faith in this venue and in Manchester – those are the decisions that tell us we’re onto a winner.”
Koravos points out that several shows have sold at a faster rate than their London equivalents.
“What’s unusual about their presale is that becoming a member of Co-op costs £1, so it’s a very low barrier to entry,” she says. “It’s a much more accessible presale than the others and I think that is one of the key reasons that it’s been so successful and has come out of the gates incredibly strongly.”
Co-op Live will go head-to-head with ASM Global’s near 30-year-old AO Arena in Manchester, which recently underwent a £50 million reconstruction which included a capacity increase from 21,000 to 23,000. Koravos believes that upgrade in itself illustrates the benefits of competition to consumers.
“We can see that that just the announcement of Co-op Live – never mind the opening – has had a great impact on competition in that that venue has announced its own programme of renovations and such,” she says. “So I think we can say that Co-op Live has pulled the entire infrastructure stock up by the bootstraps in that way, and that is classic competition operating in a good way for Manchester.
“But it’s also the case that having extended the availability of that scale venue dates in the country, enables more tours to come through the country. Every time a new project opens in the UK, it means that more artists can tour at a larger scale and expands the availability for fans.”
“It’s a gift to be able to design from scratch when it comes to sustainability, because these systems are very hard to retrofit once you’re up and running”
Co-op Live has been designed “with sustainability at its core”, according to OVG, and will use electricity for everything from air-source heat pumps for heating and domestic hot water through to cooling and catering, without any gas supply serving the site.
“It’s completely fundamental and has been from day one of our design conversations,” says Koravos. “It’s a gift to be able to design from scratch when it comes to sustainability, because these systems are very hard to retrofit once you’re up and running. The biggest thing was that we were able to design the building to be 100% electric from the beginning.”
In addition, Co-op Live and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) last month announced a ground-breaking initiative which will see travel on Metrolink and new city centre shuttle buses included in all arena event tickets from 20 April to 30 June, during the venue’s opening season.
“Our efforts are going to be focused on ‘Scope 3 sustainability’, which is trying to influence the behaviour of the audiences coming to and from,” adds Koravos. “We can control our own operations, but we can’t control the audience choices so much in terms of how they get to the venue and back. So we have spent a lot of time and money with Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester in crafting a raft of measures.”
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