A £350m indoor arena planned for Manchester would be the largest in the UK.
OVG, the firm behind the scheme, insists Manchester can sustain a second stadium despite the protestations of the existing 21,000 seat Manchester Arena. The 23,500 capacity development is expected to host about 120 sporting and cultural events a year and provide more than 1000 jobs once completed in 2023.
Chief Executive Tim Leiweke said the city "deserves a new arena".
"Most of the big markets have two, three or four arenas. If you look at London when the O2 was built many people predicted the demise of Wembley Arena, but they've just had he best year they've ever had.
"People can have opinions on whether the market needs two but the reality is we're the ones taking the risk."