"Are we spending more than anyone anticipated? Yes, but it will be worth it": The eye-watering TRUE cost of Co-op Live after arena hit with calamitous delays

The boss of Manchester's Co-op Live Arena says that costs will now soar to £450million after a series of delays hit the venue's opening. The venue was initially said to have a build cost of £365mn.

That's now risen to "over £400mn" with a likely end cost of £450million according to the man behind the arena, Tim Leiweke. It is now the UK's biggest indoor arena with a capacity of 23,500, and officially opened last night with a homecoming gig from Bury band Elbow.

Mr Leiweke is chief executive of the Oak View Group (OVG), the American operator behind the venue who co-own it with City Football Group. He said the extra costs have been "painful" but "they've taken it on the chin".

READ MORE: LIVE updates as Co-op Live prepares to open for its first official gig with Elbow performing

Mr Leiweke told the MEN today: "Are we spending more than anyone anticipated originally? Yes, but it will be worth it. The original cost was £365m, and it’s now over £400m.

"OVG and City Football Group, including our contractor and what they’ve had to put in in losses, we will spend close to £450mn privately. The contractor [BAM] lost a lot of money on this job. This job cost them more than anyone ever expected.

"We’ve been building this arena for five years, this is the longest construction I’ve ever seen on any arena ever built, it’s a complicated beast."

Mr Leiweke declined to comment on what financial penalties have come into play due to the delays, saying "That's between us and BAM". But he said: "BAM has been honourable, they’re finishing the project, they didn’t try to duck out here, they’ve taken it on the chin, their stock got hit, it’s a public company, I have great admiration for BAM and the job they’ve done here, because look at how beautiful this place is.

"10,000 people built this arena, and I’m proud of that group of people. BAM our contractor they got hit hard, they’ve lost a lot of money on this job, I feel bad for them, they’re doing the best they can. Some things we could have expected, some things were unexpected, ie the manufacturer error on the filter, there was no way to predict that."

He also denied reports that bosses were given warnings in February that the building wasn’t ready. He said: "That’s not true. The fact is, two weeks ago we were ready, and then the air filter happened."

Mr Leiweke says thorough checks have now been made to the roof after part of the air conditioning unit fell off during the sound check ahead of the A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie opening gig on May 1. Ticketholders who were queuing outside to get in were told the gig was off just minutes before they were due inside.

He insists gig-goers can have every confidence that it's now the "most checked venue in history" after the incident which he said was isolated to one faulty valve.

He said: "As it turns out we had 95 of those air vents in the sky. We went back after that one fell, and we checked every bolt of every one of those 95 and it took us a week. There was no way we were going to open the building until we’d got up there and looked at every one of them, and it delayed us.

"It’s the most analysed, scrutinised, over-analyzed, and double engineered and checked bolts in the history of the construction industry and again it’s painful, it’s hard for us, it’s expensive for us.

"I know people are upset at that, but I was not going to open the building until we went up and looked at every bolt, every nut at every one of those 95 and have a third party engineer tell us they were ok. It’s just life safety and you just can’t rush that.

"So am I sorry about the extra two weeks? Yes, very, very apologetic. I know we altered lives and confused schedules but there was no way that we were going to open without looking at every nut and bolt on those air shafts."

Mr Leiweke remains optimistic that once the venue opens tonight, the past three weeks of chaos will soon be forgotten. He said: "This building will have a greater economic impact than any project in Manchester, period."