A boost from Co-op Live? We'll drink to that!

Pub bosses near £365m arena say they are hoping it will deliver extra trade

- DAMON WILKINSON

ITS opening might have been plunged into chaos, but pub landlords near the new Co-op Live arena hope that when it's finally up-and-running - the £365m venue will provide a welcome boost to trade.

With more than 23,000 people set to pack out the arena several nights a week, local boozers in nearby Beswick and Bradford are hoping giggoers will pop in for a few pints before the show.

And with drinks prices a fraction of what's being charged inside, they'll be saving a few quid if they do.

"It can only be good for business I can't see it not being good," said Tony Carroll, long-serving landlord of The Townley on Albert Street in Beswick.

"If we get 100 people in and they all spend a fiver that's £500 that we wouldn't normally have. If we get 10 people in it's 10 customers we wouldn't normally have.

"City have looked after us for 15 years, this is just a bonus. The only thing is the parking is going to be crazy. "There will be teething problems, but give it 12 months and it will settle down. But City have been putting concerts on for 15-20 years and they're always great." Tony, who has run the pub for 27 years, says the arena's opening is just the latest step in the remarkable transformation of this once run-down and neglected corner of east Manchester.

"Thirty years ago nobody wanted to know east Manchester - look at it now," he said. "Houses are going for £300k.

"Back then you could have bought the whole of Beswick for £300k. The area is just getting better and better."