NYNEX Arena



The Manchester Arena, known as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space.

The arena has the highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, and second largest in Europe with a capacity of 21,000 and is one of the world's busiest indoor arenas, hosting music and sporting events such as boxing and swimming. The arena was a key part of Manchester's bids to host the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000 and was eventually used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

The arena was temporarily closed following a terror attack by a suicide bomber on 22 May 2017, in which a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured 500 more at the end of an Ariana Grande concert during her Dangerous Woman Tour. Shows that were scheduled to be at the arena were either moved to alternative venues, or cancelled completely. The arena was reopened on 9 September with a special benefit concert headlined by Manchester-born singer Noel Gallagher.

The arena has been the home of three sports teams: the Manchester Storm and Manchester Phoenix ice hockey teams, and the Manchester Giants basketball team with limited success, as it is no longer used by sports teams but is used for one-off sporting events such as boxing and football masters.