Co-op Live co-owner calls for regulation to help stop ticket touts

The boss of one of the co-owners behind Co-op Live has called for stronger powers to turn people away who have bought tickets from touts as he warned over the impact on the live music industry.

Tim Leiweke, chief executive of Oak View Group, which co-owns the Manchester arena with City Football Group and pop star Harry Styles, said the so-called secondary market for ticket resales “ruins the credibility of the industry”.

He urged the Government to help the sector crack down on the market by drawing up regulations to stamp out illegal resales and said better technology was needed to spot tickets sold by touts.

Mr Leiweke told the PA news agency: “The biggest problem in our industry is secondary scalpers that have no skin in the game.”

He said they were “trying to take advantage of fans”, adding that venues and artists make no money from ticket resales and have no say in the prices charged.

“It ruins the credibility of the industry and it ruins the experience for the fans,” he said.

He told PA more advanced technology and greater regulation was needed to enable venues to ban entry for those with illegal ticket resales.

“Eventually with technology we’ll be able to sell a ticket to a person and make sure that’s the person that shows up and walks into our arena,” he said.

“But we need the Government to help us with this so we have the right to turn people away.

“Secondary ticket scalpers are not good for the economy, not good for the industry and sure as hell aren’t good for the fans,” he added.

He said a regulated platform was also needed for customers to resell tickets, in conjunction with the industry.

“There are companies out there that are doing it the right way,” he said.

His comments came as an independent report commissioned by Co-op Live, Britain’s biggest indoor arena, estimated that the venue has contributed more than £1.3 billion in turnover to the local and national economy since development first began in 2021.

But the arena suffered a disastrous launch, its opening was delayed several times and the build cost swelled from £365 million initially to more than £450 million by the end of construction.

Several major acts had to be postponed, including US pop star Olivia Rodrigo, whose gigs were cancelled because of a string of problems with the venue, which at one stage saw part of its ventilation and air conditioning system fall to the ground from the ceiling.

The fiasco ended on May 14 2024, when British band Elbow opened the 23,500 capacity venue.

“Most people don’t get to go to hell and back in one year, but we’ve certainly been in both places,” said Mr Leiweke.

“There were a lot of naysayers who didn’t think we’d be successful.”

The report by planning consultancy Lichfields calculates that Co-op Live has contributed £455 million in gross value to the UK economy and £852.2 million in sales since it opened its doors a year ago.

Oak View Group and co-owners are now looking to invest another £5 million around the venue, which is based on the Etihad Campus in the heart of Manchester.

Mr Leiweke added that Oak View Group is also setting its sights on opening another giant arena in London that will eclipse the Co-op Live and the O2 in size, with plans to invest more than £1 billion in further sites across the UK.

“London needs another venue on the north side,” he said.

“We respect the O2, but that’s over 20 years old now.

“We’re committed now to building a new world class arena like the Co-op Live in the future.”