Vaughan Allen, chief executive of Urbis in Manchester, is leaving the venue next month. Allen will take over as chief executive of CityCo, a public/private partnership that promotes Manchester, in March after Urbis closes.
The controversial decision to move the National Football Museum from its home in Preston to the Urbis site was taken in November. The move means that Urbis will, in effect, close as a temporary exhibition centre.
Allen said he was sad to be leaving Urbis after more than four years. “We’re proud that we have demonstrated that popular culture can work in a museum context,” he added.