Ahead of his session at the Arenas Operators and Developers World Summit, Michael shares his perspective on evolving from an events-led venue to a broader enterprise-driven business. He discusses operational complexity, fan experience, partnerships, and the trends shaping the future of multi-purpose arenas across the UK.

Your presentation is titled, “From Events to Enterprise.” What does that shift mean in practical terms for Coventry Building Society Arena, and why is it so important right now?

“For the past 20 years, we have built a reputation as a leading venue for events, but we are now focused on delivering on the venue’s founding goal of being a 24/7, 365-day-a-year destination. We are in an enviable position as a venue that can host live sport, music, entertainment, conferences, exhibitions and award ceremonies, all in the same week.

“To continue to deliver the best possible experiences, we have built strong relationships with external partners and invested to ensure we have an efficient, resilient and skilled team to support our busy event calendar.

“Our people and our partnerships will be the foundations for our continued growth and will put us on a sustainable footing. This is more important than ever as costs continue to rise and expectations grow from visitors and event organisers alike.”

Since stepping into the Managing Director role in 2023, what have been the biggest opportunities you’ve identified for transforming a traditional events venue into a broader enterprise-driven business?

“It has been a phenomenal journey over the past two years, and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved. I stepped into the role as the venue was still recovering from administration. We adopted a ‘thinking without limits’ mantra by pushing boundaries, innovating and doing things differently.

“This included launching a five-year strategy, with six core pillars identified to ensure the long-term success of the venue, and placing partnerships at the heart of our business. That includes our sustainability partnership with E.ON and working with CBRE to ensure excellent facilities management and maintenance services.

“Crucially, we have also launched new brands that strengthen our foothold in key markets, such as CBS Live for live events. Since launch, we have welcomed huge comedians and musicians including Paul Smith, Bryan Adams, Tom Grennan and Ed Sheeran.”

CBS Arena is known for being truly multi-purpose. What are some of the unique operational challenges that come with balancing a core sports tenant alongside conferences, exhibitions and major live events?

“Coventry Building Society Arena was one of the first truly multi-purpose venues in the UK when it opened. Our versatility is our biggest strength, and we have an experienced team delivering the best possible experiences for visitors across sport, business and entertainment.

“The venue has more than 20,000m2 of flexible event space, enabling us to host multiple events at any one time.

“Recently, we welcomed 10,000 fans to our Indoor Arena to see Ed Sheeran. Fans wouldn’t have been aware that, at the same time, a large corporate event was taking place upstairs, while guests were also departing from a charity Christmas lunch via a separate entrance as concert doors opened.

“There are, of course, operational challenges with being a multi-purpose venue that is home to a major football club, but we work closely with our partners at Coventry City FC to mitigate these and ensure every visitor, event organiser and customer has a smooth experience. For example, during Christmas 2024, we delivered a major corporate party for 4,500 people within three hours of more than 25,000 fans watching Coventry City play in the stadium bowl.”

Fan experience is a major theme in your session. What innovations or strategic changes have had the biggest impact on improving the experience for visitors and partners?

“The key is ensuring that whether someone is attending a football match, a conference or a concert, we provide the same high standard of service and meet expectations every time.

“Investing in our people has been a major focus. This is especially important within our operations team, ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and confidence to solve problems in real time and deliver a smooth event experience. That includes bringing our catering team in-house, which allows for swifter decision-making.”

The Arena has leaned increasingly into conferences and corporate events. How are you leveraging this part of the business to drive year-round revenue and reduce reliance on major event cycles?

“Our conference, exhibition and meetings business continues to grow, and last year we enjoyed a record year. We achieved more than £8.9 million in sales during 2024/25 and attracted £3.2 million in new business.

“We aren’t standing still. We have unveiled The Curve, a new multi-functional space suitable for conferences and medium-scale exhibitions, with capacity for up to 350 conference delegates.”

From your perspective, what are the biggest trends or shifts currently shaping the future of multi-purpose venues in the UK?

“There is a major shift in how venues are using technology, particularly AI and data-driven approaches, to improve efficiency and productivity. For a business like ours, streamlining operations and processes allows the team to focus more on delivering incredible experiences.

“As an industry, we also need to better understand the expectations of today’s audiences while looking ahead to how we communicate, market and deliver experiences for Gen Alpha and Gen Beta.

“There is also work to do around attracting the future workforce. That includes not only how we develop and retain talent, but how we ensure opportunities are reaching young people in the first place.”

You’ve spent more than 20 years in the leisure and hospitality sector. How has your background influenced the way you approach leadership, commercial strategy and stakeholder relationships at the Arena?

“In hospitality, you are trained to expect the unexpected. You need to be flexible and able to act quickly, while ensuring people are at the centre of everything you do, whether that’s staff, clients or guests.

“That customer-focused mindset is something I have carried through, alongside a strong commercial approach. Much of my early career was rooted in frontline operations and hotel management, where you are constantly balancing service standards, cost discipline and growth.”

As Chairman of Destination Coventry and a board director at the Association of Event Venues, how do those roles shape your vision for CBS Arena?

“I’m proud to play an active role both regionally and nationally within the tourism and events sector. “We recognise the Arena’s role as a key driver of economic activity in Coventry. We can be a catalyst for growth in the city and help boost tourism, jobs and the wider hospitality sector. “Our vision is to be a venue that contributes meaningfully to the regional visitor economy, while leading the national conversation on important issues such as skills and workforce development.”

The Arenas Operators and Developers World Summit will be hosted at the NEC in Birmingham, UK, from 10-11 February 2026. Book your delegate pass today by clicking here.