Fury over 'rip-off' bar prices at new Co-op Live arena in Manchester as it charges nearly £9-a-pint - after venue sparked backlash for cancelling tickets to Rick Astley gig test event

Punters awaiting the opening of Manchester's new £365million Co-op live arena this week have been left outraged and disgusted by a leaked bar menu that suggests the cost of a pint in the venue will be £8.95. 

The arena, which is set to officially open tomorrow with a Peter Kay gig, will have the largest maximum capacity of any UK venue capable of holding 23,500 people at a time. 

This weekend at an official test event featuring Rick Astley, some fans were incensed after the venue cut 4000 tickets from the show at the last minute, leaving revelers stranded. 

And the shaky start has now continued after a whistleblower leaked the arena's menu showing that the owners intend to charge £8.95 for a pint of Guinness and £6.50 for a 330ml can of alcohol free Asahi. 

Last year, the Office for National Statistics revealed the average pint of lager in a pub is £4.47 making the Co-op's offering almost twice as expensive. 

And despite the arena still one day away from opening, reaction to the expensive menu has led some to call for its demolition. 

Taking to social media, the whistleblower said: '£9 a pint at that new coop live arena BULLDOZE IT.' 

Replying, one doom-laden Eeyore type bemoaned the chubby hands of capitalist fat cats who intended to lump the country with '£10 pints by 2025.'

Another said: '£9 for a pint in East Manchester during a cost of living crisis? That's just mental.' 

But despite the North's indignation, a MailOnline investigation has revealed the true scale of the nation's 'Cost of Drinking Crisis' means it is being felt in sports venues and arenas all across the country. 

Last month during England's friendly against Brazil at Wembley, patriots were outraged to find that the stadium was selling £7 pints of Stella Artois that were poured from cans. 

A year previously, Blur fans were also in uproar over booze prices at the stadium, with the cost of a pint of Budweiser at the Britpop gigs coming in at a frankly outrageous £7.85. 

The gig was also blasted for offering a four pack combo deal of Budweiser cans for £27.50.  

In London's football stadiums, Arsenal and Chelsea fans can expect to pay £6.60 and £6.50 for a pint respectively at the Emirates Stadium and Stamford Bridge. 

Meanwhile in the O2 arena last year, fans were staggered to see that pints of Budweiser were going for £8.50. 

At the same gig, a single vodka and coke was being sold for £12. 

Marveling at the prices on reddit, one drinker replied: 'That pint would be about £1 a sip? £2 if you do big sips.' 

Outside of London, drink prices in some of the countries top venues were still above the national average but slightly cheaper than London. 

Last year at Beyonce's gig at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium, the cost of a pint of was £6.50 - two pounds higher than the national average. 

In Aintree earlier this month, drinkers had to choose between £7.50 for pints of draught beer or cider, including Carling, and £7 for Guinness. 

This was a rise of 50p from last year.  

Fizz enthusiasts were also asked to shell out £46 for a bottle of Prosecco and £85 for champagne. 

In good news there was one venue that stubbornly refused to follow the prevailing fashion of raising drinks prices for the sake of it.

Darts fans taking in the World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace can still pick up pints for £5 with the option of spending £20 for a pitcher.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) says the average pint costs £4.10 in a 'wet-led' pub - one that mostly sells drink, not food. 

These rising prices are already doing the impossible and putting some beer fans off their favourite drink - or at least, from buying as many.

Beer industry insiders say most of the cost of a pint goes on paying taxes and bills - with precious little profit left for pubs and brewers.

Figures from the BPPA show that more than a third (33.4 per cent) of the price of a pint is spent on taxes.

Of that £4.10 pint served in a wet-led pub, VAT is 68p, alcohol duty 46p, business rates 9p and other taxes 14p, such as corporation and employment tax. That is a total of £1.37 going to the taxman. 

Wages are the second-highest expense, making up 17.8 per cent of the price of a pint - or around 73p of the typical pint.

Only 7.5 per cent of the price of a pint is profit, and that has to be split between the brewer that makes the beer and the pub that sells it.

Pubs and brewers are desperately trying to keep the cost of a pint as low as possible, the trade body added.