The arena is now the butt of jokes, and not just from professional comedians.
One Peter Kay fan on social media nicknamed it “Co-flop Live”. Chris Roper, another ticket-holder, dubbed it “Co-op dead”.
“It’s dead before it’s got off the ground, isn’t it?” Mr Roper, from Haworth in West Yorkshire, told the .
He says he was unhappy with the short notice of the first postponement, and lost money on a non-refundable hotel.
“Peter Kay summed it up,” he added. “He said everyone’s massively disappointed but you’re better safe than sorry. You don’t go to a venue that’s unsafe. But they surely knew [about] this a long time ago.”
Jonathan Chorlton, from Manchester but living in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, had tickets for The Black Keys – but cannot make the new date because he will be on holiday.
“It’s just felt like it’s been really badly organised,” he said.
The venue explained on Friday that it needs extra time “to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly”.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News,, external Mr Leiweke blamed a police request for a specific emergency radio system, which he said had been “a bit of a curveball”.
A statement from the council and emergency services on Friday suggested there was more to it. They said outstanding problems include “a fully tested emergency services communication system, and some remaining internal security systems, and fire safety measures”.
But “work is progressing quickly in all of these areas”, the statement added.
