Pollstar (11/01/21) Gottfried, Gideon

Co-op Live Manchester, touted by OVG International as Britain's largest-capacity indoor entertainment venue, is also being promoted as its first all-electric arena. The structure is designed to operate without any gas power, as its developers announced that 8,883 square meters of rooftop solar panels will power day-to-day activity, "with green electricity from the grid topping up capacity for events." The developers claim the current design realizes a 53.7% reduction in energy consumption compared to similar arenas, partly due to the elimination of gas boilers. They formulated that the design will enable a 23% reduction in carbon emissions, and envision the arena on course to achieve net-zero carbon by 2038. Once completed, the venue will recycle all rainfall via a rainwater harvesting system, which will encompass 24% of total water usage. Rainwater will be utilized to flush toilets and water the green spaces around the venue. An OVG spokesperson said the green spaces will be equivalent to 10 tennis courts worth of trees, shrubs and wildflowers, creating habitat for wildlife. Co-op Live will also partner with local food donation programs, implement a plastic-free plan to minimize unnecessary packaging and remove single-use plastics, and deploy a recycling program and free-water refills.

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