Bentley to ‘drive’ Co-op Live luxury quotient

Article posted by Coliseum, March 8^th, 2023

Image: Co-op Live and Bentley Media

Bentley Motors has announced Manchester’s most exclusive luxe members’ club – The Bentley Record Room – an intimate lounge designed by the Bentley Motors Design Team at Co-op Live, the highly anticipated music and entertainment arena in Manchester, England, UK.

‘Bentley Media’ stated that the Bentley Record Room will be located next to the performers’ Green Room inside the new £365 million music and entertainment venue – set to be the largest live music arena in the United Kingdom. Luxe members will have access to the space before, during and after events at the Co-op Live, with the best tickets to live shows as well as access to an exciting range of special events in The Bentley Record Room.

Bentley Motors is the most sought-after luxury car brand in the world. The company’s headquarters in Crewe (UK) is home to all of its operations including design, research and development (R&D), engineering, and production of the company’s five model lines, Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible, Flying Spur, Bentayga, and Bentayga EWB. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to United Kingdom’s luxury car brands such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley employs around 4,000 people at Crewe.

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The 23,500-capacity Co-op Live is an indoor arena currently under construction in Manchester, England (UK). Due to open in 2023, it is planned to have the largest maximum capacity of any indoor arena in the United Kingdom, greater than the existing 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena, which is around two miles away.

The Oak View Group (OVG), City Football Group (CFG), English singer-songwriter Harry Styles, and Co-op are joining forces to create Co-op Live, the biggest and best arena in the United Kingdom. Based in Manchester, the project is injecting £365m of private investment into the North West. The Co-op Live will be one of the world’s premier music and entertainment venues, rivaling New York’s 20,789-capacity Madison Square Garden, the 17,505-capacity The Kia Forum in Los Angeles and the 20,000-capacity The O2 in London and is due to open in 2023.

Los Angeles (US)-based the Oak View Group (OVG) is a global sports and entertainment company founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. OVG is focused on being a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports and live entertainment industry and currently has eight divisions across global offices (Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, and London).

Manchester (UK)-based the City Football Group Limited is a holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organizations, of which 81 percent is majority-owned by the Newton Investment and Development LLC, 18 percent by the American firm Silver Lake and one percent by the Chinese firms China Media Capital and CITIC Capital.

The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail and wholesale, insurance, legal services, and funerals. The Co-operative Group has over 65,000 employees across the United Kingdom. The group has its headquarters in One Angel Square in Manchester.

‘Bentley Media’ further stated that world-class, planet-friendly and at the heart of the local community, Co-op Live will deliver one of the world’s most pioneering, sustainable and socially responsible venues, delivering Co-op’s vision of a fairer world into the entertainment industry. The project will create 3,350 constructions jobs and 1,000 roles and apprenticeships on completion of the venue as well as giving over £1m back to the national and local good causes.

Co-op Live will be located in the Etihad Campus, and will host live music, sport, comedy, award shows, and family entertainment. Co-op Live’s smart ‘bowl’ design means it is big but intimate with cutting-edge visual technology, incredible acoustics and 32 bars, restaurants, lounges, and club spaces.

The construction project, the single-largest in the City, will give the regional economy a much-needed boost following the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and will boost the local economy by over £1.5 bn over the next 20 years. From locally sourced construction materials to zero waste to landfill, solar panels and rainwater harvesting, Co-op Live will be doing more to use less and leave better.

The 100-capacity club will offer the ultimate in luxury and intimacy for music fans, boasting high-end dining options, a private host and waiter service, designated parking, and a VIP entrance to the venue. Its sumptuous interiors will be designed by the Bentley Design Team replicating the custom finishes and designs of its luxurious cars. The space will include low-carbon Beluga leather seating and expertly crafted Bentley Home furniture, created in partnership with the Luxury Living Group.

Commented Christoph Hohmann, Global Head of Brand Communications at Bentley Motors, “We are delighted to offer music lovers a dedicated Bentley Place – an environment that is as luxurious and cosseting as the interior of a Bentley – allowing them to experience the craftsmanship, beauty and luxury that you can find in each one of our cars but on a much larger and totally immersive scale.”

Stated Sam Piccione, President of OVG International, “Bentley is number one in British luxury, so it’s the exemplar brand to name this unique room. As the United Kingdom’s first private luxe members’ club inside an arena, The Bentley Record Room will put Manchester ahead of anywhere else, including London, for unrivaled quality entertainment. There’s no doubt it will be one of the best and most lavish places to enjoy live events anywhere in the world.”

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