AO ARENA
MEZZ AO Arena
New VIP suite, premium bar and restaurant The Mezz provides guests with a view of the arena bowl and stage, and frequently hosts post-show entertainment.
“ The redevelopment allowed us to tier all our premium spaces, so our products start at a very accessible price, ranging all the way up to super premium,” says Vaughan.“ We ' ve seen a drop in attendance at events but an increase in the amount of money spent per ticketholder. The investment in premium facilities was a direct lean into that. It ' s all about elevating fan experience, encouraging broader engagement via the range of entertainment we have on offer at the venue, and constantly adapting to changes in the global touring market. We are aligning ourselves with the 4.9 Trustpilot review level achieved by AO.”
The naming rights deal with UK-based online electrical retailer AO was struck in 2020, and has since been extended to 2030. One of the key members of the AO team responsible for overseeing the naming rights partnership is sponsorship manager Oliver Pfeiffer.
He says,“ For us, it ' s all about connecting with our customers. Prior to the deal being signed we researched our customers’ passion points, and live entertainment. particularly music, over indexed.
“ The partnership is much more than just about having our name on the building. The fact that we are an online retail brand means that being involved in a sponsorship like this gives us a tangible way of being able to engage with our customers. When they walk through the
door, we make sure that the activations we create play a part in the amazing experience they have within the venue.” When it comes to ensuring artists and their teams also have a first-class experience at the AO Arena, Vaughan says nothing has been taken for granted, with the changes made the result of focus groups with promoter partners and their reps. The attention to detail takes in everything from production packs being left on every desk; which containing the likes of socks, umbrellas and air pods; to hard-standing structural elements that enable the swift load-in and out of shows.
“ We ' re obviously operating in a very competitive market in Manchester,” she says.“ We are very lucky to exist in a city where we ' ve got two stadiums, one cricked ground, two arenas, four 10,000-capacity spaces and a whole community of grassroots venues.
“ Our redevelopment did not stop at the guest experience, we also carried out a £ 2m upgrade of the back-of-house areas to make sure we remained competitive and enable our artists and their touring teams to have a home-from-home experience in our venue.
“ When artists are on a 20 – 30-day tour, they often don ' t see the light of day; they go from tour bus to our venue back to the tour bus and off to another venue. Our new back-of-house offering was very carefully developed with that in mind, and we have been very forward thinking with our technological enhancements. Visitors can do everything from plug in and continue to play a TV series from a streaming platform, to view a live stream from the stage so that they don ' t have to leave the comfort of their dressing rooms to know if there ' s a short call.”
Having staged 136 events last year, the AO Arena is set to better that with around 140 in 2025. Vaughan says that to offset fluctuations in the touring cycle for arenalevel artists, recent years have seen the venue team diversify the offering, with an increase in family entertainment and special events such as brand activations and conferences.
Says Vaughan,“ We ' re also working with BBC 6 Music to host intimate Q & A events, in our new lower event floor, with a capacity of around 220. It’ s about keeping the AO arena brand front of mind while diversifying our content calendar by doing something a little bit new, niche and interesting.
“ The beauty of our venue is that we are so flexible. We can host events in the bowl from a 3,500 capacity up to 23,000. That has meant, over the years, that we have often been able to give artists who are on an upward trajectory the opportunity to play an arena show at an early stage in their career, before welcoming them back to play full-scale shows.
“ The beauty of having such a remarkable legacy is that you can go full circle with an artist, and that’ s what we saw with Torvill & Dean. Because of our heritage, our understanding of the market, and our relationships with promoters and artists, we ' ve really been on an amazing journey with a lot of people at the AO Arena. It ' s a wonderful place for us to be, and for us it ' s about harnessing that excitement and moving forward into our next 30 years.”
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