Man behind the music Tim Leiweke hits all the right notes
Inside Co-op Live the stage is set. As I arrive, the finishing touches are being put to the Bruce Springsteen gig – the first of three shows 'The Boss' is performing at Europe's largest indoor entertainment arena.
Sniffer dogs weave along the myriad rows of the 23,500-seater stadium – a timely reminder of the essential security measures that mass-event organisers routinely take following the suicide bombing of the nearby Manchester Arena eight years ago that killed 22 concertgoers.
But for Tim Leiweke this is more than just another day in the office. The American boss of Oak View Group, the entertainment giant that runs Co-op Live, is revelling in the news that the venue has just been voted the top arena in the UK and Europe, selling over one million tickets and grossing £87 million in its first, eventful year.
It's a far cry from the chaotic launch of Co-op Live, which was dogged by technical delays and safety concerns that led to a slew of performances from the likes of comedian Peter Kay and singer Olivia Rodrigo being cancelled at the last minute. PR Week magazine called it one of the biggest corporate communications disasters of the year.
'Everyone was wondering whether we were going to get it open or not,' Leiweke recalls. After a month of setbacks the troubled arena, which cost £450 million to build, finally opened with hometown band Elbow headlining.
He says he kept telling the band's lead singer Guy Garvey: 'It's going to be ready, trust me!'
Leiweke adds: 'He ignored the headlines and came. It turned out that was kind of the line in the sand. Everything got easier after that.'
Garvey wasn't the only one to help him out during the crisis.
'Paul McCartney did us a favour and played two nights in December,' the Missouri-born entertainment mogul says in his deep southern drawl.
And Springsteen, who was booked for the opening, also re-scheduled after Leiweke persuaded him to play 'the best acoustics arena in the world'.
Leiweke, 68, was able to pull these strings because he is very well connected – and not just in the music industry.
He was dubbed David Beckham's 'American mentor' after luring the former Manchester Utd and England footballer from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy, which was owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) he ran at the time. He still speaks to Beckham 'every week'.
Leiweke's vast experience and contacts served him well during the Co-op Live launch drama.
'When you're in the business for 45 years the good news is you develop a lot of good relationships,' he reflects.
'If you treat people well, if you honour your word, and if you build the greatest acoustical arena ever built artists will want to play here.'
Co-op Live is the 20th entertainment venue he has built, including London's O2 Arena, which as head of AEG he transformed from the ailing Millennium Dome.
'I've done more of these projects than anyone on the face of the Earth. It ultimately teaches you to learn to be patient,' he adds. Leiweke points out that 'there's never been a perfect' launch and cites Tottenham and Wembley football grounds as examples of other delayed openings.
He also praises the patience and perspective of Co-op Live's backers, including the deep-pocketed Abu Dhabi-based owners of neighbouring Manchester City, who put up half the money for the arena.
Leiweke, who founded Oak View Group in 2015, told them to trust him and 'they hung in there with us'. He adds: 'We built this arena for 50 years, not 30 days.'
It's a lesson that won't be lost on the Co-op as the retailer, which owns the naming rights to the arena, grapples with the fallout from a recent cyberattack.
Part of Leiweke's confidence that it would be all right on the night stems from his faith in the arena itself. A unique acoustical bowl minimises background noise with all advertising and signage inside removed.
'It's a black box, like it's a theatre. It means you can have 24,000 people here and Bruce can sit on stage and feel like he can touch every one of them. We've built the perfect environment,' he gushes.
Backstage it's like a five-star hotel with 13 hospitality lounges – or 'clubs' – 14 dressing rooms, a gym, even a recording studio. Leiweke says: 'It's a city back there.'
It's certainly gone down well with artists. Opera legend Andrea Bocelli told Leiweke Co-op Live was 'the best sound check he'd ever heard' while Liam Gallagher of Oasis said the only comparable arena in the world was Madison Square Garden in New York.
'We knew we had something special,' Leiweke says. 'We knew that would shine through. We just had to get people and artists in here.'
Co-op Live has also given the local economy a £1.3 billion boost as concert-goers spent money in Manchester's bars, clubs, and restaurants. Leiweke is proud that the arena – and a new 460-room hotel that will come on stream nearby next year – have been built without a penny of taxpayer subsidy. As for his next project, Leiweke is eyeing an even bigger arena in London to rival the 20,000-seater 02. He points out that New York and Los Angeles each have four such venues whereas London has only one.
But for now, his focus is on Co-op Live, where there are still a few 'nicks and nacks' to sort out before that night's extravaganza.
Muhammad Ali once told him that the mark of a great champion was not the boxer who's never been knocked down – it's the boxer who gets knocked down and keeps on getting up.
'That advice was perfect for this building,' says Leiweke. 'When you get knocked down, get back up and keep on fighting.'
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