Co-op Live  Avis 278

Appalling! We booked seated in section 304,row 9.Dont waste yoir money at this place. The seats were so narrow and uncomfortable. I am a size 10 and could hardly move my arms! Two drunk men stood up half of the performance, so everyone behind them had to stand the rest of the night. Unable to see a majority of the show as with their arms in the air blocked our view! Everybody was complaining about the seating. Some leaving their seats to stand elsewhere. There were standing room tickets so it's really annoying when people pick seated when is all they want to do us stand. £13.95 for a dried up small chicken burger. £8.50 for small tin of wine. £3.90 for a thin tin of water! Only booze at the bars, no soft drinks at all so you gave to queue seperately. So expensive. Concert was on the night of a football match so trams were so hectic and crammed to get there. Been here before on lower level to left side of stage and the seating was not that narrow! I have a health condition, this concert venue has left me in alot of pain today. Allocated pick up spot on the map takes you on a 20 minute round trip to back where you came from. If you need to be collected - just head towards the taxi area and find Edwin road.

Having booked wheelchair access tickets to see Simply Red on my partners birthday (27.09.25) I was unfortunately taken ill and unable to attend with him.

Our daughter is also registered with Co-Op as disabled, thankfully though she is ambulant. As I didn't want there to potentially be any issues when they arrived I attempted to contact Co-Op arena Manchester prior to the concert to make sure everything would be OK.

Trying to find a contact number for Co-Op is impossible. Trying to find any contact with either them or Ticketmaster is a bad joke.

Eventually I stumbled upon an agent, who explained as she is ambulant and not in need of a wheelchair she would not be allowed to sit in my seat.

I was advised they could refund my ticket, which I could then purchase the correct ticket for her (and her carer).

Great you would think.

Except the conversation dropped before the refund went through.

Nothing I tried could get me back to the agent. Time was ticking away. I couldn't get a replacement ticket without the refund from the original.

Much to everyone's disappointment, especially my partner as it was meant to be his birthday gift on his actual birthday, that he had looked forward to for a considerable length of time. He missed out.

Since then I have spent time emailing both Co-Op and Ticketmaster. They have found the conversation regarding the refund, but as it wasn't processed prior to the event, through absolutely no fault of mine, they have now said refunds can't be made after events.

All of this could have been prevented had there been a human being on the end of a telephone who could have amended the seats from wheelchair accessible to ambulant.

Everything about this has left a rather bitter taste towards potentially booking events in the future, knowing there is no point of contact whatsoever.

Asking for the refund of the ticket that was unable to be used or exchanged is a mere drop in the ocean for an organisation the size of Co-Op. Yet it had taken me, unable to work through my long term health issues, quite some time to save for what should have been a birthday gift to remember. A huge amount for me, made possible as I was only required to purchase a single seat as he was attending as my carer. That meant that without a disabled person going with him, he wouldn't be able to attend either.

Despite the fact that he would have only been using one seat. I had paid for one seat, but no, this wasn't permitted either.

Co-Op really need to review the way they treat the disabled patrons. I was never attempting to sell the tickets or transfer them to anyone other than a different family member, our daughter.

This should never have been an issue. Exchanging seat numbers shouldn't have been an issue if required as stated. Refunding to then repurchase should have been fulfilled easily. But no. None of it was done and not only was the concert then completely missed, but now because it wasn't completed before the concert, again not my fault, I am not to get a refund.

This is how the rich get richer and those of use unfortunate to be at the bottom of the ladder, will always stay there.

In future I will think twice before using Co-Op. Hopefully any events will be at alternative locations we can attend at rather than risk going again.

As a disabled person in a wheelchair, the disabled platform was brilliant , staff were excellent, great view of the stage , would highly recommend it , only thing that lets it down is getting out of the blue car park , took an hour to get out, absolute nightmare but benson Boone was so good it was worth it , lovely and cool so didn’t get overheated , all round a fabulous experience

First visit to the Coop Live and the actual venue itself is impressive - massive, decent seats and well stocked foyer shops / bars.
That’s about it for good stuff though.

The parking was horrendous. £25 for the privilege, the access was really poor pre-event and we missed the first act (took us over an hour to park and we live 25mins away), and then leaving was even worse. No idea why they have so many car park attendants, they did naff all to help or direct, utterly useless.

Then the prices in the venue were ridiculous. Can’t even describe them as expensive - they were disproportionately off the scale

Been to a couple of events here and it gets worse every time I go Accessibility cue was let in 20to 30 minutes after general admission. Once you are in venue staff really don’t care want you do, accessibility is not their problem. Staff are unhelpful cues for everything for huge

The event we went to was fabulous, however, the drinks prices were ridiculous. To buy a can of Pepsi it was £3.90 and to buy a can of Smirnoff Ice it was £9.80! They don't even let you take your own in, very disappointed given that its the Co-op and their ethos "is caring for others and contributing positively to the community" how is charging that caring for others?

I've been to Co-Op live twice for gigs (Sleep Token in November 2024, and now Architects in October 2025), and overall I don't think its too bad as a venue.

There's quite a few bars and food places, as well as a co-op shop on the ground floor. But the prices are a bit much, especially for the drinks. The sound quality/acoustics also sounded very good for both events. Queuing for both events wasn't too bad either as I got in quickly, and with time to visit merchandise, bars and have a look around. Leaving also was pretty alright too as there are regular trams to and from the venue.

I do think the pricing of food and drinks coukd be improved upon though. It could also have improved signage.

Used the seat unique suite for the first time tonight as the accessible part was sold out so booked with seat unique so I could sit at the bar. I have a crutch and the normal seats aren’t good for me at the min. All the way through I had someone standing straight infront of me asked him to politely move so I can see and staff member was very rude said we should be in our seats but he was ok to stand. Very bad for disabled people will not use again

I have never had more fun at an arena than the CoOp. Maybe it was the crowd itself, but it felt so safe. Backstage Club was such a blessing. I would go back in a heartbeat. The staff were LOVELY - both me and my husband had separate floors and it really stood out how helpful they were.

I couldn’t complain about one thing for my own experience but I will say something - those wires from ceiling to the mixer- they block views and I don’t think it’s acceptable those seats are sold at the same cost, and I definitely don’t think hospitality/box seats should be sold as such behind them either. I would be gutted.

This is the second time ive been to this venue. The first time was ridiculous, the queuing went on for well over an hour and it was a warm evening in summer. This last time we weren't queuing for as long. The venue have good security were everyone's bags are checked and your body scanned which is a good thing.
The food is extortionate, we got a chicken burger that was already cooked but kept warm and it was bloody awful, the fillet was nice but the filling had fallen to the bottom of the carton and the bread was soggy yack £13 the carbon of chips were nice but again nearly £6. I bought 3 cans of captain morgans with coke in the shop to take to the hotel for £6.50 they were £9.50 for one there. A bag of Maltesers £4.50 can of pop £3.50 30 quid down the pan.
The seating is the worst I've ever sat in, like sardines. You are that close you are touching legs and shoulders with a complete stranger. They have cupholders on the chairs 😂 are you kidding me.
I hate going when your second row from the front of the balcony and the people in front with the best view are dancing and waving their arms around and blocking your view, no consideration for us smaller people. T**ts!

Awful venue. Queued for nearly an hour just to get in. Nearly missed start of show. No time to get a drink. It was so busy we were herded to a different gate (total opposite corner of venue) as our gate was too busy apparently.
Seats inside tiny with very little space in front of you. Very tricky to get out if you need the loo. I popped out for drinks and bars were closed! Nearest one open miles away so grabbed water from the water fountain instead. Toilets disgusting. When we came out, biggest queue ever for the tram. Managed to find random taxi and paid £35 to get back to deansgate! Would not recommend this venue…..

We attended the John Bishop gig on Sunday 5th October and while we loved his show we have mixed comments about Co-op Live.

Getting there by tram was okay but we went early and we got the first tram back to Manchester post gig BUT we had to almost run to catch it. Had we missed it we would not have caught our last tram home from Manchester. A shuttle bus service could be an option to avoid such a problem. Better still an arrangement should be made with Metrolink to have trams queuing at Etihad Campus to get concert goers back to Manchester centre speedily.

Our seats inside the venue were in C2, which when booking appeared to be on a raised level but we found ourselves on a flat level with poor visibility of the stage. This is a poor design issue. Why was the venue not constructed with a slope towards the rear of the ground level so as to avoid poor sight lines?

Food and drink prices within the venue are very expensive so we declined the option to purchase. Lots of others though were happy to purchase food and drink in the venue but this resulted in almost constant toing and froing to the toilets and kiosks further hampering our view and interrupting our enjoyment.

Positive aspects at the venue were the large number of staff around to help customers along with an adequate number of male and female toilets helping to keep queues to a minimum.

Would we go to Co-op Live again? We think yes but considering our issues this visit we'll be more wary about when to go and who to see.

Great John Bishop Gig. However car park charge of £25 excessive and unbelievably painful experience to vacate the car park. This surely can be improved took in excess of 40 minutes to get out of the car park with no supervisory or signage direction. For an iconic UK national indoor venue this is not good enough.

Something needs to be sorted with transport links. Queued for an hour + to get on the metro link for it then to stop at Trafford bar because it goes past cut off. If an event is on run the trams the full track slightly later than a normal evening.
To be told you can walk into Manchester for 25 minutes by stewards is an insult. Shuttle buses could be provided into Manchester to help disperse the crowd and take the pressure off the metro station at the venue. 2 concerts Iv attended there and twice it’s been awful to get away from. Wouldn’t book again.

We had to queue 50 minutes in the rain just to get in, the price of the drinks is a rip off , a can of tango was £3.40 and then the seats are tiny , I am a small person can only just get in them. We won’t be going back

2 visits Lionel Richie and Simply Red. Both times after the shows it poured down with rain and despite having umbrellas we got soaked WHY you may ask ?. Trying to get transport away from this venue was an absolute nightmare on Both occasions. Taxis and Uber have no dedicated areas to pick up. There are plenty of unused aggregate surfaced areas that could be used. We walked for ages getting soaked . Second visit we were told by Uber to walk to the McDonald’s where Uber would pick up. We tried but had cancellations as the area outside was totally gridlocked to and from. Has NOBODY yes NOBODY had the common sense to appraise this. Signs inside the venue re taxis trams buses etc or advice on line would be, one would think, a sensible way to advise. In addition to being charged £20 YES £20 by a taxi for the 2 mile journey from central Manchester this is a Venue I Very Much intend Never to return to. If they aren’t performing at the AO ARENA I Ain’t going full stop.

Simply Red September 2025

Mick and his band were AMAZING the venue definitely NOT amazing!

Terrible location

Extortionate bar prices - one mediocre bottle of wine, two ‘ok’ small tins of Prosecco and two 2pint cups of beer…. £101!

Far too steep and, God forbid, anyone tripped it would be a major catastrophe. People would fall to their death like dominoes!

Marshals were overwhelmed and couldn’t retain any sort of order for the queues trying to enter the event.

Leaving was even worse!
No cover. Herded like cattle through the barriers with hoards of people trying to push in. Then it was every man for himself getting on the tram. Everyone was drenched and it certainly took the shine off the whole evening 🤬 Outfits, gorgeous blow drys for what should have been a fabulous evening absolutely ruined 🤬

I’d NEVER return no matter how much I wanted to see a concert. It would be a different venue and if necessary a stay over! Everyone around us was saying the same!

Huge venue which definitely NEEDS a couple of big screens. The two they currently have aren’t worth having!

Simply Red …. The gig and the sound quality was exceptional. Entry, exit, transport, drink prices, health & safety NOT GOOD.

People were stood in the seated area for the full gig and wasn't told to sit, policy is to sit in seated area , if want to stand get a stand ticket. Not on for people who can't stand for long. Don't mind last 2 songs but not full hr n half

There is nothing accessable in regards to support for booking tickets for those with disabilities. I followed all the instructions to end up with tickets that they now tell me after a week they can not help me to move. Ticketmaster pa's you to the Co op and Co op pass you Ticketmaster. You can never book tickets at the lower stands they ask you to apply online and register your disabilities which I did and won't help to change them even though they said they good. Discrimination towards those with regsitered disabilities. Rwuested money back through my bank as refund.