Still known to many as the G-MEX, Manchester Central is a dominating presence in the city centre.
Dominating not just because of the sheer size of the former railway station, but also because of its status as the premier venue for conferences, exhibitions and events in the area.
Owned by Manchester City Council, the 10,000 capacity venue has been well known for hosting a wide range of events, everything from party conferences for the Conservatives and Labour through to Ninja Warrior 海角视频.
However, when the pandemic struck last March, Manchester Central transformed its 247,000 sq ft of space into the region's Nightingale Hospital.
Now, with the venue finally able to open up again, chief executive Shaun Hinds has spoken exclusively to BusinessLive on the challenges of the pandemic, how the venue is bouncing back and when he expects the business to return to pre-Covid levels.
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"Last Monday was an important milestone for Manchester Central and also the industry", said Mr Hinds.
"We've got about 100 events ready to be staged and we're confident about the autumn and winter period.
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"However the Covid-19 pandemic was catastrophic for the business, and that is an understatement.
"We've seen a complete collapse in our traditional revenue.
"The next accounts will look significantly different."
Those accounts will follow the documents for March 31, 2020, which were published earlier this year, and showed a turnover of £19.4m and pre-tax profits of £803,000.
Mr Hinds added: "Over the last financial year we got a bit of income from the NHS but not very much.
"The pandemic just knocked the wind out of our sails and we've been through some really challenging times.
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"Everything has been turned upside down and it's been just shy of impossible to make plans.
"The year to March 2020 had been set to be a record year for us.
"If we hit 50% of our pre-pandemic revenue during the next year it will be an incredible result.
"I think it will take about three years to recover. It would be great if we did it sooner than that but I'm taking a prudent approach."
Despite the obvious financial impact the pandemic had on the business, the CEO has said he's proud of the part Manchester Central was able to play during the height of the pandemic.
"The team that work in the venue had the opportunity to contribute to the effort to build the hospital and also running it.
"In a way the events industry was the line of defence behind the NHS.
"I'm proud of the part we played and I'm glad that we were able to do it in a constructive, positive and helpful way."
The venue did, however, have a secret weapon to stay on top of the ever-changing policy updates coming from the Government during 2020.
"Because we have hosted a number of Conservative Party conferences in recent years, we had a direct line to the Government.
"That enabled us to ask them about the new measures and policies that were being introduced so we could stay on top of everything."
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Now that the majority of Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted in England, Manchester Central is able to return to hosting events.
But while the CEO is pleased about the reopening, he is "perplexed" about some of the language coming out of Number 10.
Mr Hinds said: "We were thrilled to be able to properly restart our events programme and begin to help rebuild the region, but obviously the announcement has left us a little perplexed.
"The Prime Minister mentioned large scale or ticketed events would be subject to the double vaccine certification, but at the moment we don’t know whether this entails business conferences and the events we hold here at Manchester Central.
"We have worked extremely hard to ensure we can offer full flexibility to create whatever environment or scenario our organisers need, and we are in a strong position to implement these new measures if required, but we need to see the finer detail.
"The business of bringing people together has a significant halo effect and as such the sector will undoubtedly play an integral role to the country’s economic recovery, job creation and international competitiveness.
"We recognise that a significant proportion of the public will naturally be cautious as we emerge from this pandemic.
"As such, ensuring all event goers feel safe will be integral to rebuilding confidence in the sector and for our own growth going forward.
"The organisers who are hosting events at our venue know their audiences and their guests best and we will be working closely with each one as to the breadth and depth of measures they wish to have in place.
"Safe, secure and well-managed environments have always been what business events are about and that remains a constant for us as a venue."
Having been decommissioned as the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West in June, the venue has since added a number of features to embrace changing trends in the live-events sector as a result of the pandemic.
The centre has installed a TV-quality broadcast studio for podcasts, panels and recitals, in addition to its ‘plug and play’ hybrid solution in its purpose-built 800 seat auditorium, enabling content to be live-streamed to in real-time to maximise audience reach.
Mr Hinds added: "The last 16 months have taught us all just how much we miss and take for granted the ability to interact face to face, on a personal level and on a business level.
"We want to continue to provide a space which not only gives businesses the confidence to restart their event programmes in earnest, but gives the public the face-to-face socialisation we have all missed so desperately.
"The events and exhibitions sector brings £30bn into the 海角视频 economy each year, and we’re thrilled today to be able to properly restart our events programme and begin to help rebuild the region."