As posted in the world forums.

We all knew it really!

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/879/13580250vt4.gif

Birmingham has 2 in there (well done!), but even those 2 combined with London's Wembley Arena, doesn't even come close!!!

Link to the one in the world forum: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=401902

*The figures are for all events EXCLUDING professional sports - still nice to see tho!!!

We certainly don't give the MEN Arena the credit it deserves. It brings in hundreds of millions of pounds directly or in-directly into Manchester's economy every year.

JRB - couldn't agree more.

I know we harp on about the bomb, about the growth in the residential market, about great buildings and developments, but in reality this tops them all. The Arena has been the driving factor in bringing tourism growth to our city, followed by Man U, in my opinion.

Infact I'll give you my top 3 tourism drivers (based on growth):

1) MEN Arena
2) OLD Trafford (continued stadium expansion and off-field acitivities)
3) The Lowry Centre

I have to hand it to Manchester and the MEN i was so glad it was ahead of Madison Sq Gradens although if you add the sport events NY would be top spot. but anyway :applause:

im guessing the O2 in London would top them all though:colgate:

That's amazing! The NEC is always busy, but the MEN must be incredibly busy to have twice as many people passing through it's doors! What is the main use of the MEN, is it usually used for pop concerts or other events too? Well done to the MEN management, they must have worked damn hard to attract so many people!

Since the demise of the basketball and ice hockey its only really used for concerts these days.

Nevertheless, to get that many people through the doors in a year is fantastic! I take it when it says "Ticket Sales", it means "Bums on seats" in the MEN Arena? They don't sell tickets for other venues across Manchester & the North West, do they?

I've checked the NEC website, & the complex as a whole receives on average 4 million people a year, so I suppose that puts it in to context.

No the context is 650,000 people a year at an indoor arena, for which Brum has the comparable indoor arena (?), not on this list though??


The only comparison would be between MICC and the NEC which are two exhibitions centres in the respective cities. The MICC I think incorporates the GMEX arena in addition the convention centre.

On these figures I have no doubt the NEC is far larger than Manchester...Manchester being an urban site and small (exhibition wise), the other located alongside the airport/motorway and vast!

Oops sorry, there it is

NIA Birmingham 98,000 compared with

MEN 600,000..... oh dear FLD.

Still, you stick to thinking the MEN inflates its figures by including other venues! Arf!

*The figures are for all events EXCLUDING professional sports - still nice to see tho!!!

Aha. That explains it. If they were included then Birmingham would be higher up, possibly at the top and maybe the Alexander Stadium would be on the list too.

Well done anyway to Manchester. Still surprised Birmingham is so high up, especially compared to London.

If it included sports then with the UK's main boxing arena being.....the 20,000 capacity MEN (for boxing), then with even 3/4 fights year (when there are more) would mean the MEN would out perform the current stated BIA figures on this alone.

It's a shame they built the arena too small, even though it was the largest in Europe on construction.

Why is it when Manchester has record attendances in everything from football to boxing to ice hockey to concerts do people trot out reasons against its performance? ergo in this thread.... "do they include ticket sales at other venues" "if you included sports event" etc etc etc

Perhaps we are a large city, at the heart of a very large region, with excellent transport links (train station and metro inside the MEN complex) and very wealthy people living near by.

Related to the MEN attendance figures....perhaps the tourist figures ranking us 3rd behind London & Edinburgh (soon to be passed) are actually correct? The hotels being built in town seem to confirm this but again there are people denying it!

Maybe people attend a UTD match, watch a concert and stay in the hotels?

If it included sports then with the UK's main boxing arena being.....the 20,000 capacity MEN (for boxing), then with even 3/4 fights year (when there are more) would mean the MEN would out perform the current stated BIA figures on this alone.

It's a shame they built the arena too small, even though it was the largest in Europe on construction.

Why is it when Manchester has record attendances in everything from football to boxing to ice hockey to concerts do people trot out reasons against its performance? ergo in this thread.... "do they include ticket sales at other venues" "if you included sports event" etc etc etc

Perhaps we are a large city, at the heart of a very large region, with excellent transport links (train station and metro inside the MEN complex) and very wealthy people living near by.

Related to the MEN attendance figures....perhaps the tourist figures ranking us 3rd behind London & Edinburgh (soon to be passed) are actually correct? The hotels being built in town seem to confirm this but again there are people denying it!

Maybe people attend a UTD match, watch a concert and stay in the hotels?

Well you'd think that at least a good proportion of the visitors to the MEN would travel into Manchester and stay overnight in one of the hotels, and that's over 600,000 anually!

Oops sorry, there it is

NIA Birmingham 98,000 compared with

MEN 600,000..... oh dear FLD.

Still, you stick to thinking the MEN inflates its figures by including other venues! Arf!

I wondered why the NIA was so low on the list, the NIA in Birmingham is predominantly a sporting venue with the odd pop concert thrown in every now & then. Perhaps we could have the figures for TOTAL attendnace for these venues, eh, Fly?!

The NEC Arena in Birmingham also hosts many more events than just pop concerts ............. How many big indoor arenas do you have again Manchester?

Oh dear Fly!

FLD - WWE and boxing most likely account for more people at the MEN than the NIA gets.

2 large indoor arenas - GMex, used in Common Wealth games for gymnastics and occassionally concerts, and the MEN, the business arena in the world.

FLD - WWE and boxing most likely account for more people at the MEN than the NIA gets.

2 large indoor arenas - GMex, used in Common Wealth games for gymnastics and occassionally concerts, and the MEN, the business arena in the world.

The NIA hosts National, European & World Championships almost every week! How often are the boxing matches held at the MEN, once - maybe twice a year??! The NIA was designed as a "Multi-purpose" arena. It is a far more versatile arena than the MEN Arena, which is why athletics bodies from all over the World consistently choose the NIA for their events.

One of the MEN Arena's strengths .... it's size, is also one of it's weaknesses, because a venue seating around 13,000 people is considered the optimum size for most indoor sporting events, one of the reasons why the MEN has to concentrate on atracting pop concerts instead!!

The G-MEX is smaller than every single hall (14 of them) at the NEC complex .... which by the way attracts over 4 million people a year, to a city which is the second most visited city for business & tourism, and is the third most visited city in Britain by foreign tourists after London & Edinburgh ...... BIRMINGHAM!!!!!

World Indoor Short Pool Swimming, World Netball Championships, World Disabled games....

plenty of large events held at the MEN.

So come on, produce TOTAL figures for the NIA and impress me, otherwise I totally unimpressed.

World Indoor Short Pool Swimming, World Netball Championships, World Disabled games....

plenty of large events held at the MEN.

So come on, produce TOTAL figures for the NIA and impress me, otherwise I totally unimpressed.

Metro, is that all in the 11 years the MEN has been open????? Do you want to give me a couple of days while I compose a list of National, European & World events held at the NIA & NEC Arenas????

no, that is this summer.

I like the idea that somehow being the most popular arena in the world is somehow a problem.

oh - and there are plenty more as well, masters football etc...

so come on, what are the total figures for last year?

FLD - your information seems to be a bit off the mark...

not many sporting events planned for the NIA over the next few months are there???

http://www.necgroup.co.uk/visitor/whatson/SearchWhatsOn.asp?v=NIA

Date
Disney On Ice "Princess Classics"
The NIA 26 Oct - 5 Nov 2006
The Flaming Lips
The NIA 9 Nov 2006
Taste of Chaos
The NIA 10 Nov 2006
The British Indoor Rowing Championships
The NIA 12 Nov 2006
Scissor Sisters
The NIA 13 Nov 2006
Cliff Richard
The NIA 14 Nov 2006
Cliff Richard
The NIA 16 - 17 Nov 2006
Birmingham International Tattoo
The NIA 18 - 19 Nov 2006
The Give Back Project
The NIA 20 Nov 2006
WCF Trampoline & Tumbling 2006
The NIA 25 Nov 2006
Christina Aguilera
The NIA 26 Nov 2006
Snow Patrol
The NIA 28 Nov 2006
Young Voices
The NIA 30 Nov 2006
Classical Spectacular
The NIA 2 Dec 2006
Richard Ashcroft
The NIA 3 Dec 2006
Basement Jaxx
The NIA 5 Dec 2006
Russell Watson
The NIA 6 Dec 2006
Morrissey
The NIA 7 Dec 2006
Little Britain
The NIA 9 Dec 2006
Beautiful South
The NIA 10 Dec 2006
Date
The Pogues
The NIA 13 Dec 2006
Daniel O'Donnell
The NIA 14 Dec 2006
Sing-A-Long-A ABBA
The NIA 15 Dec 2006
John Legend
The NIA 20 Dec 2006
Bootleg Beatles
The NIA 21 Dec 2006
Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
The NIA 23 Dec 2006
"CBeebies Live!" Xmas 2006
The NIA 27 - 28 Dec 2006
BBL Cup Final
The NIA 7 Jan 2007
Lord Of The Dance
The NIA 12 - 18 Jan 2007
Indoor Hockey Finals
The NIA 21 Jan 2007
Netball Test Match - England v South Africa
The NIA 22 Jan 2007
The 29th European Indoor Championships in Athletics
The NIA 2 - 4 Mar 2007
Yonex All England Badminton Championships
The NIA 6 - 11 Mar 2007
Journey
The NIA 13 Mar 2007
My Chemical Romance
The NIA 22 Mar 2007
Lemar
The NIA 24 Mar 2007
Daniel O'Donnell Rock N' Roll
The NIA 23 Apr 2007
The Best Disco In Town - Live 2007
The NIA 24 May 2007
Riverdance
The NIA 4 - 9 Jun 2007

Compared to...

Event Date Time Price Tickets
Once In A Lifetime - Country Tour 2006 28/10/06
19:30
£37.50 Book

Unholy Alliance Chapter II 03/11/06
18:00
£27.50 Book

Paul Simon 04/11/06
19:30
£40.00 & £45.00 Book

P!NK 05/11/06
20:00
£26.50 Book

Scissor Sisters 06/11/06
19:30
£23.50 Book

Muse 10/11/06
11/11/06
19:30
19:30
£27.50 Book
Book

WWE RAW 13/11/06
19:30
£60, £45, £30, £20 Book

WWE SMACKDOWN 14/11/06
19:30
£60, £45, £30, £20 Book

George Michael 17/11/06
18/11/06
21/11/06
20:00
20:00
20:00
£100 £60 £40 Book
Book
Book

Christina Aguilera 23/11/06
20:00
£35, £40, £75 Book

Tool 24/11/06
24/11/06
19:30
19:30
£30.00 Book
Book

Cliff Richard 25/11/06
26/11/06
19:30
19:30
£45 £37.50 £30 Book
Book

Pussycat Dolls & Rihanna 28/11/06
19:45
£26.00 Book

Snow Patrol 29/11/06
19:30
£22.50 Book

Richard Ashcroft 30/11/06
19:30
£23.50 Book

Celtic Tiger 05/12/06
20:00
£32.50 £40.00 Book

Basement Jaxx 07/12/06
19:30
£23.50 Book

Status Quo 08/12/06
19:30
£28.50 Book

Classical Spectacular 09/12/06
19:30
£33.00, £29.50, £24.50, £19.50 Book

Placebo 10/12/06
19:30
£23.50 Book

Kasabian 11/12/06
11/12/06
19:30
19:30
£21.00 Book
Book

Tenacious D 12/12/06
19:30
£25.00 Book

Madness 13/12/06
19:30
£28.50 Book

Iron Maiden 14/12/06
14/12/06
19:30
19:30
£32.50 Book
Book

The Beautiful South 15/12/06
19:30
£25.00 Book

The Pogues 16/12/06
16/12/06
19:30
19:30
£27.50 Book
Book

Russell Watson 17/12/06
19:30
£50 £35 £30 £22.50 Book

BBC The Blue Planet Live! 28/12/06
19:30
£19.50 £26.50 Book

CBeebies Live! 30/12/06
30/12/06
31/12/06
31/12/06
13:45
16:45
10:45
13:45
Adults £20.00, £17.50, £14.50 Children £18.00, £15.50, £12.50 Family of 4 £72.00, £62.00, £50.00 Groups 10+ save 10% Book
Book
Book
Book

Kylie 12/01/07
13/01/07
15/01/07
16/01/07
18/01/07
19/01/07
19:30
19:30
19:30
19:30
19:30
19:30
£49.00 Book
Book
Book
Book
Book
Book

International Netball 25/01/07
19:00
£9.00 £17.00 £48.00 Book

Fleadh 2007 27/01/07
18:30
£37.50 Book

Pussycat Dolls & Rihanna (new date) 04/02/07
19:30
£27.50 Book

Shayne Ward 09/02/07
10/02/07
19:30
19:30
£25 Book
Book

The X Factor Live 02/03/07
19:30
£25.00 Book

Westlife 16/03/07
17/03/07
19:30
19:30
£29.50 Book
Book

Dolly Parton 20/03/07
19:30
£45, £55 & £65 Book

My Chemical Romance 24/03/07
19:30
£17.50 Book

Daniel O'Donnell 17/04/07
19:30
£25.50 £27.50 £29.50 Book

Once In A Lifetime 2007 Rewind Tour 20/04/07
19:30
£37.50 Book

Deep Purple 22/04/07
18:45
£31.50 Book

Bryan Adams 08/05/07
19:30
£35 Book

Meat Loaf 10/05/07
19:30
£37.50 & £45.00 Book

Lionel Richie 09/05/07
11/05/07
20:00
20:00
£35.00 £50.00 & £75.00 Book
Book

Harlem Globetrotters 19/05/07
19:30
£11.00 £14.00 £19.00 £23.00 £33.00 Book

Own Your Life (Business Seminar) 02/06/07
09:00
£200 £250 £350 Book

Beyonce 07/06/07
19:30
£36.00 £41.00 £46.00 £56.00 Book

http://www.necgroup.co.uk/visitor/halloffame/i/wica_celebrate.jpg

I'll start with the NIA, just World events Metro, there are just too many British sporting events taking place here (over 30 different types of sport can be accommodated in this multi-purpose arena).

World Championships include, ahem;

Netball, Basketball, Athletics, Trampolining, Table Tennis, Junior Wheelchair Games, Archery, Climbing, Tae-Kwondo, Judo, Powerlifting & Tennis ....... oh yes, & Disney on Ice too !!!!!

There are dozens of European & National events here all of the time.

I was impressed originally that the MEN arena was first in that league table Metro, but when I'd realised all other types of uses has been "weeded" out of other Arena's figures, then it is very misleading!!!

The railway station shell, known as the G-MEX is pretty insignificant in the world of major indor arenas, it does not compare with the 2 arenas in Birmingham ........ plus, there are rumours that the NEC Arena is going to be replaced with a brand new 21st Century arena, which may have a capacity of up to 30,000 people known as the NEC Colliseum, watch this space in the future!!!

So then FLD, how many people will attend all those [sic] sporting events at the NIC over the next 12 months from the list above?

so, on the schedule for the next 12months for the NIA you have...

The British Indoor Rowing Championships

WCF Trampoline & Tumbling 2006

BBL Cup Final

Indoor Hockey Finals

Netball Test Match - England v South Africa

The 29th European Indoor Championships in Athletics

Yonex All England Badminton Championships

i.e. 7 events - say they all get 10k people, and extra 70k people - woo hoo, 2 boxing and 2 WWE events are bigger than that at the MEN.

MEN - WWE RAW 13/11/06
19:30
£60, £45, £30, £20 Book

WWE SMACKDOWN 14/11/06
19:30
£60, £45, £30, £20 Book


International Netball 25/01/07
19:00
£9.00 £17.00 £48.00 Book

Presuming 20k for WWE (2 times) and 10k for Netball (same as NIA) you have 50k people attending sporting events at the MEN over the next year.



So, 20k more at the NIA at MOST (presuming 10k go and watch in door rowing???)

So then FLD, how many people will attend all those [sic] sporting events at the NIC over the next 12 months from the list above?

I've checked the NEC information (NIA is part of the NEC group), I cannot yet find projected admission figures.

What I can tell you is, the NEC group in Britain's second most visited city, Birmingham, will entertain over 4 million people over the next 12 months.

Have you got the total figures for the MEN & G-MEX combined for me for the next 12 months Metro?

Nothing like that, but we're talking about the NIA as an arena, not the NEC as a conference venue that no one argues attracts an awful lot of people to it's out of town location.

Anyway, where are all these sporting events at the NIA that you talk off?

Do you dispute the events listing on their web site?

so, on the schedule for the next 12months for the NIA you have...

The British Indoor Rowing Championships

WCF Trampoline & Tumbling 2006

BBL Cup Final

Indoor Hockey Finals

Netball Test Match - England v South Africa

The 29th European Indoor Championships in Athletics

Yonex All England Badminton Championships

i.e. 7 events - say they all get 10k people, and extra 70k people - woo hoo, 2 boxing and 2 WWE events are bigger than that at the MEN.

If you want to get pedantic over it, a lot of those events are held over 2 or 3 days, so lets take an average of 2.5 days shall we, multiply it by 7 and take the 13,000 capacity to be optimistic, that makes 227,500 to me, is it not??

Nothing like that, but we're talking about the NIA as an arena, not the NEC as a conference venue that no one argues attracts an awful lot of people to it's out of town location.

Anyway, where are all these sporting events at the NIA that you talk off?

Do you dispute the events listing on their web site?

No we are talking about visitor numbers, or ticket sales, as listed in that mis-information about the MEN visitor numbers!

Over 4 million people (6 million in a good year) visit the combined NEC group, including the NEC & NIA a year. Roughly, as you seem to be good at extrapolating data, how many people visit the MEN Arena & G-Mex, your 2 most important performing venues by visitor numbers, each year???? TELL ME!

no they aren't - have a look at the listings.

Only the indoor athletics and badmington are, they have an extra 6 days.

So the arena will be used for 12 sporting days against the MEN 4.

Given the MEN has a capacity twice that of the NIA, that is like 8 - 12, ie. 4 more days of 13k people = 52k difference, woo hooo.

Also, isn't WWE on twice a day? Once in the afternoon and once in the evening, in which case MORE people visit the MEN for sport than the NIA.

Around 800k people.

And your point - this thread is about arenas, not conference centres.

Shall we include football grounds to?

.... and as you seem to be keen on transport & statistics, with Manchester Airport handling 3 times as many people as Birmingham Airport each year, where are all those people going to in Manchester when they get there? ....... or, are the 25 million people or so who use Manchester Airport, people leaving the Manchester Area to go on holiday, & not arriving there to visit Manchester's attractions??!!

The title of this thread ...

'Top 75 World ARENAS - Manchester'

Out of interest, does the NEC describe itself as an arena?

I though it stood for National EXHIBITION Centre, as opposed to the National Indoor ARENA.

left field question FLD.

Stop changing subject when your on to a loser.

With regards the question about the airport, I suggest using the CAA web site, they can give a much better answer than I could.

But I suspect the vast majority are people in the north going on holiday, why does it bother you?

From memory only London city has a large number of business passengers using it, all the others have a very similar percentage.

As I say, the CAA will be able to give you a much better explanation though.

Around 800k people.

And your point - this thread is about arenas, not conference centres.

Shall we include football grounds to?

It is about visitor numbers, & cultural & sporting events. Our NEC is not just used for exhibitions & conferences. This comparison is being used by me, just as the figures in that list exluded everything else other than pop concerts! the NIA is also used for Party Political Conferences.

800,000 against 4,000,000, the figure for the MEN isn't that impressive now.... woo hoo for Birmingham!

Britain's second most visited city for business & pleasure!!!

http://www.necgroup.co.uk/imagesets/gallery/big/3.jpgThe title of this thread ...

'Top 75 World ARENAS - Manchester'

Out of interest, does the NEC describe itself as an arena?

I though it stood for National EXHIBITION Centre, as opposed to the National Indoor ARENA.

Because we have the NEC & the NEC Arena, they are separate!

Yes, very good.

I'm sure we can all come up with figures saying our city is the 'most visited' after London.

So anyway, back to the arenas, quite impressive by the MEN, as for the conference centres, NEC does quite well as well doesn't it.

Yes, very good.

I'm sure we can all come up with figures saying our city is the 'most visited' after London.

So anyway, back to the arenas, quite impressive by the MEN, as for the conference centres, NEC does quite well as well doesn't it.

Yes Metro, the figures for the MEN were good, but the thread suggested that this arena was the most visited in the World, but when we get down to the nitty gritty, it was only using one source of data "Pop Concerts". Now, if the thread had said "MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS ARENA IS THE BUSIEST POPULAR MUSIC VENUE IN THE WORLD", then that would have been fair play.

As for visitior figures to our two cities, please feel free to disprove that Birmingham is visited by more business people or tourists than Manchester ....... for Birmingham, we'll start with the 4,000,000 people that visit the NEC group of complexes, now it's your turn Metro!!! See ya!

No idea how many people go through the airport on business every year on the way to other locations.

Similarly, I have no idea on the Manchester Internation Conference Centre, nor the conference centre at Old Trafford football club (used a lot more than you'd imagine).

I'd be guessing totally.

Anyway, are we saying all the people at the NEC for crufts are business of leisure?

No idea how many people go through the airport on business every year on the way to other locations.

Similarly, I have no idea on the Manchester Internation Conference Centre, nor the conference centre at Old Trafford football club (used a lot more than you'd imagine).

I'd be guessing totally.

Anyway, are we saying all the people at the NEC for crufts are business of leisure?

An event like Crufts, which last year was the first time in the events history was opened up to foreign competitors as the quarantine laws have been relaxed, would attract both business "tourists", like the dog owners & related manufacturers, and tourist "tourists".

Do you have an equivalent in Manchester of the "Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau"? They should be able to guide you on visitor numbers.

(By the way Metro, this is just for fun, I hope you aren't getting wound up .... I love Manchester almost as much as I love Birmingham & live in neither! Two very important & vibrant cities)

try www.visitmanchester.com - it's the Greater Manchester toruism web site.

No - we have about 30 odd Manchester United home games a year which attract large numbers of international tourists, as do the Champions League home matchs, the Champions League final which we held a couple of years ago and the UEFA cup final which is at the City of Manchester stadium next year.

Have you ever been to Old Trafford on a non-match day? You'd be surprised by the hive of activity, many of the people there are not from our shores.

Out of interest - do you consider Old Trafford to be in Manchester now?

Seems strange that Brummies are claiming the NEC, I always thought it was in Solihull :dunno: Maybe Mancs should claim Bolton arena too ;)

Hi Jonesy55. Yes, you are quite right, the NEC lies within the Solihull Metropolitan Boundary, along with the airport (the far north east perimiter of the airport lies within the City of Birmingham).

The NEC was funded originally by the rate payers of the City of Birmingham, and still today is financed by Birmingham, so probably has a claim to be called Birmingham's NEC. In a similar way, we have London Gatwick (Sussex), London Stansted (Cambridgeshire), & Manchester United (Trafford ..... Metro!)

FLD - I never had a problem with Old Trafford being in Manchester if I remember correctly.

Remind me of your position again???

FLD - I never had a problem with Old Trafford being in Manchester if I remember correctly.

Remind me of your position again???

Old Trafford stands in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford (popn. c200,000) in Greater Manchester, in the region of North West England.

Like wise, the Birmingham NEC lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, (popn. c200,000) West Midlands, in the region of the same name "West Midlands" .......... which is why Solihull is generally referred to as Birmingham!

ah, thanks.

http://p.vtourist.com/2463663-National_Exhibition_Centre_NEC-Birmingham.gif

Just to show you the scale of the NEC site, this is why it couldn't be built in Birmingham City Centre, & if Manchester wants one of these World class venues, it will have to build it in Cheshire!!

By the way, the NEC Arena is the building in the top left hand corner, slightly away from the NEC itself ..... have a nice weekend!

That's one mighty big shed you've got there! ;)

That's one mighty big shed you've got there! ;)

Yes, but ours doesn't grace the skyline of our city centre like your MEN & G-MEX!

oh - and far far more important than anything else - Peter Kay used to be a yellow coat at the MEN.

Beat that Brummies :D

Put this into perspective. The Clothes Show and Crufts alone destroy the complete validity of this.

Britain's second most visited city, Birmingham

Not according to the International Passenger Survey FLD... They placed it as London, Edinburgh and Manchester in 2005 and London, Manchester and Edinburgh in 2006. The same result can be seen in the report compiled by the National Tourism Agency, whose figures are used by VisitBritain.

Top posts from Brum, belting effort lads

Like wise, the Birmingham NEC lies in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, (popn. c200,000) West Midlands, in the region of the same name "West Midlands" .......... which is why Solihull is generally referred to as Birmingham!

:lol: So FLD likes to argue that Manchester is only its city proper, but when it comes to this argument - he'll happily open up Birminghams boundaries!

...

http://www.prideofmanchester.com/comedy/photos/peterkay-menarena.jpg

is the third most visited city in Britain by foreign tourists after London & Edinburgh ...... BIRMINGHAM!!!!!

Britain's second most visited city for business & pleasure!!!

Make your mind up FLD.

Majormystery, why does he have to make his mind up?

It's possible for a city to have a good business market and a not so good tourism market in relation to other cities. Did you not know that?

Well is it second or third most visited? Because it cant be both. People visiting for pleasure are tourists are they not.

That doesn't make any difference what's so ever, as he put 'business and pleasure'

Claims like that usually turn out to be a load of distorted bollocks anyway. Its like when Leeds claimed to be the UK's favourite city.

Some brum folk on here, honestly :hilarious

The list is there, dis-facking-credit the thing all you pansies want, the arena has earned its position all us mancs knew it had anyway, so ner :) Funny, it takes a list to prove it, and then when its there, you cant bite your fucking bottom lips and accept it.

It's weak!

ahhhh... :cheer:
I love the 'FACT' the spoken of MEN arena is just a stroll down the road from me....and Old Trafford, not mentioning the occupiers of stated stadia are settled not 20 mintues in the other direction.

Hands up brummie's, where's your fucking stadia :banana:?

The new Dome Arena will be added to the list when it
opens.

That doesn't make any difference what's so ever, as he put 'business and pleasure'

Not that it's even correct anyway according to the Government.

Forget the NEC conference centre bit (OTT & manx can't compete for obvious reasons) and forget manchester's conference centre (wow it has one!!! I was gobsmacked! -but its smaller and less famous than the prestigious ICC whose name it tries to nick).

Its MEN-arena & G-MEX vs NEC arena and NIA (NIA look the best).

Manchester wins for bums on seats! Well-done Manx!!!

Manchester has more and better music events and Birmingham has more and better sports events, they are also the respective main markets.

Chill ppl. ;)

yeah, thanks for that :sly:

Forget the NEC conference centre bit (OTT & manx can't compete for obvious reasons) and forget manchester's conference centre (wow it has one!!! I was gobsmacked! -but its smaller and less famous than the prestigious ICC whose name it tries to nick).

Its MEN-arena & G-MEX vs NEC arena and NIA (NIA look the best).

Manchester wins for bums on seats! Well-done Manx!!!

Manchester has more and better music events and Birmingham has more and better sports events, they are also the respective main markets.

Chill ppl. ;)

Would you like us to start on your brain?