The Trafford Centre Facts

• The idea of The Trafford Centre was conceived in 1984. Planning permission was sought in 1986 and approval was finally upheld by the House of Lords in 1995. It took 27 months to build and opened on 10 September 1998.
  
• The Trafford Centre site covers 150 acres and contains 118,766sq.metres of retail and 29,954sq.metres of catering and leisure space.
  
• It is located approximately 9km to the west of Manchester city centre, close to junctions 9 and 10 on the M60, with convenient access to the M602 via Centenary Bridge and an excellent dual carriageway link to the city centre.
  
• The Trafford Centre catchment area is larger and more populous than any other regional shopping centre in the UK and comprises 5.3 million people within a 45-minute drive-time, with a total potential retail expenditure of £13 billion.
  
• There are 10,000 free parking spaces, 230 stores, six nationally renowned anchor stores, Europe’s largest food court with seating for 1600, 60 restaurants cafés and bars providing over 6,000 covers, a stylish new dining experience - The Great Hall, a 20-screen cinema, a state-of-the-art Laser Quest, an entertainment venue called Namco containing an 18-lane bowling alley and Barton Square - a unique home retailing destination.
  
• Over 8,000 people, including 380 Trafford Centre staff, are employed at the Centre.
  
• The Trafford Centre currently attracts over 30 million visits annually with an average weekly total of over 500,000.
  
• The Trafford Centre is a tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the UK and beyond. Over 3,500 coaches visit annually bringing more than 100,000 people to the Centre.
  
• The Trafford Centre’s ODEON cinema has been the busiest cinema in the UK attracting on average 28,500 customers a week.
  
• The Trafford Centre has a wide range of excellent customer services and its employees are highly trained and well motivated. The Centre achieved Investor in People status in the first few months after opening and has been awarded many other prestigious awards since, which are highlighted on the following page.