The £241m Aviva Studios now needs millions more from council after 'challenging' opening

The £241m Aviva Studios arts centre now needs millions in council cash after a ‘challenging’ opening year.

The city centre venue has already received ‘just under £100m’ from Manchester town hall, of which it expects to recoup £80m, plus eight-figure-sums from other public bodies. Originally projected to cost £110m to build, it ended up totalling more than double at £241m, it was confirmed earlier this year.

Now, it’s been revealed the arena’s operators Factory International (FI) need £2m from the council to ‘strengthen the organisation as it establishes’, according to deputy leader Garry Bridges. The MEN understands no new cash will go to the company, with existing money from a ring-fenced reserve fund being ‘frontloaded’ — so FI will effectively get its 2030 and 2031 council allowance this year and next.

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Financial help has been given after a ‘lack of music and commercial income’, a new report said. The venue required more construction work after it opened, resulting in ‘considerable periods where the venue has not been able to operate at full capacity, and sometimes has needed to close for weeks at a time in order for the building works to be fully completed’, the report added.

In effect, that scared off the music industry, which ‘often took a 'safety first' approach of going to venues where promoters have a long previous history’. The lack of bookings came as 700,000 people visited Aviva Studios in year one. The target is 850,000 by its third year.

Moreover, there’s been ‘little’ passing trade as footfall was hit by ‘the slower-than-expected opening of the St John’s area’ and ‘Grape Street, envisaged as the main thoroughfare from the city centre, still not open at all’.

Such trade is ‘essential to the food and beverage offer and income stream’, the report went on. Complaints were also made on Thursday (October 10) takings are down because ‘queues’ are a problem.

“You need big spenders coming through the door, the people who will buy two gin and tonics before and two in the interval,” said Coun Joan Davies, scrutinising the opening.

“There are issues of people now saying ‘we’d like to eat before the show but if we go to [Aviva Studios], I’m not entirely sure they’ll have a full range or they’ll be able to serve prior to the show’.

“In big venues, everything is geared towards feeding people and getting them served so they can go to the show.”

Coun Davies, who represents the arena’s Deansgate ward, also questioned the type of events being booked: “We need some fairly standard stuff to get [people] through… Are we going to get large-scale opera and ballet?”

The same meeting also saw Coun Sam Wheeler blast bosses for using zero-hours contracts: “This isn’t a fly-by-night organisation.

“You’re not some local theatre company with half-a-dozen people — you’ve had £200m of public money. If you want people from this city to take those jobs and pay their rent, or get a mortgage, or plan their life, then you need to do better.”

FI chief executive John McGrath replied he understood ‘the discomfort’ around use of zero-hour-deals, which can be common in the entertainment industry, but said he would ‘take that away and have a plan to come back with’.

Mr McGrath believes Aviva Studios still has a bright future, despite the challenging start. He explained: “At the heart of this project, alongside the global impact, we have always had an economic agenda to create jobs, skills, and opportunities for the people of Manchester. We are seeing that come through with Factory Academy.”