It's an idea that's sparked fury from the likes of opera singer Bryn Terfel, angry editorials by newspaper writers in the capital and a petition signed by some 50,000 people.
Arts Council England has revealed plans to axe the London-based English National Opera's entire £12.6m annual grant from 2023, instead giving it £17m over three years - but only if it relocates, possibly to Manchester.
The prestigious company is now campaigning for the decision to be reversed and says the move, part of a wider effort to spend more public arts subsidy outside the capital, as "not doable".
But according to Randel Bryan, who spent most of his career in London and is now based in Manchester running the ambitious Factory International arts centre project, moving a major cultural institution to the North of England would have a host of benefits.
Listen to the full interview with Randel Bryan on The Northern Agenda podcast
Mr Bryan is executive director of Manchester International Festival, which will be based at Factory International when it opens next year with events all year round, contributing an estimated £1.1bn to the economy over a decade.
Speaking to The Northern Agenda podcast, he said the investment put into the "pioneering and dynamic venue" shows "that we can create some of the world's most exciting programming outside of London".
He said: "I think there's a number of places the National Opera could be looking at. I know there's been an association with Manchester. I think such a prestigious organisation actually moving to the region would be great from our perspective in terms of elevating perception.
"What I would say is that these regions, using Manchester as an example, can be catalysts for innovation that these organisations may have never needed to have considered before.
"I truly believe it is a more entrepreneurial, more creatively fluid area of the UK than London. Having worked there, there's a status quo of how business needs to be done.
"Whereas I think we are much more trying to pioneer new models trying to pioneer new approaches. Economically it's still difficult but sometimes it's more freeing.
"There are opportunities for younger people to really start to contribute and build their careers in these organisations because they can afford to live in these regions and work at the cultural organisations.
"So while it's difficult, I do think in the long run, they will really benefit from the entrepreneurial opportunities that are in Manchester and beyond."
Last week's announcement of grants by Arts Council England contains genuine good news for many parts of the North as dozens of cultural organisations are handed vital National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding for the first time.
Annual grants totalling £446.3m are being given to 990 'national portfolio organisations' nationwide to help people find art and culture on their own doorsteps. In the North the £127.9m in annual funding between 2023 and 2026 is up by £28.9m from the 2018-2022 award, the largest increase of any region in England.
Katy Shaw, Director of Cultural Partnerships at Northumbria University, said the move "marks a new direction of travel and an understanding that there has been a profound imbalance in the funding of culture across England in recent years".
While London is still the biggest beneficiary of Arts Council funding (£151.9m), its share has shrunk from 38.9% of the total amount handed out in 2018, to 34.1% - while the North is now receiving 28.7% of the total pot, up from 26.8%.
Opera North, based at Leeds Grand Theatre, has been awarded the biggest grant in our region, of £10.7m, up from £10.4m. The Manchester International Festival received the next highest at £9.9m.
Mr Bryan, a former TV executive who worked for Universal, Endemol and Discovery, describes Factory International as an "arts and cultural destination" that unifies different art forms, featuring major exhibitions and concerts as well as intimate performances and immersive experiences.
Situated in the new St John's neighbourhood, it's being developed on the site of the former Granada Studios next to the River Irwell.
He said the £210m facility will "have some of the world's greatest artists creating work of scale that has never before been seen in the region and is unparalleled in many venues across the UK and Europe".
And he said: "For me, it's a daily reminder of just how exciting Manchester is particularly for a kind of cultural destination.
"And I think I've gravitated to Manchester throughout my life. And I've always had that sense that Manchester is the place where things happen.
"And I think now, we're seeing cities like Manchester and these regions really turn into those destinations where young creative people want to come explore and thrive.
"And so I hope the Arts Council's movement has essentially come to the same understanding. There's so many businesses, so many young innovators, entrepreneurs moving to the region now and I think that finding ways to capitalise on that and to continue that investment, I think it can only be a good thing."
Earlier in his career in London, he said he had to live with his auntie and couch-surf as he tried to get his break working as a runner, "sprinting around Soho, barely enough money to eat, let alone get the tube and public transport".
"And that's not an uncommon story for young kind of creatively passionate people across the UK that their only option was to up sticks and leave and go to London," he says. "Now without the support of the 'Bank of Mum and Dad', nowadays that's nearly impossible.
"And so you've got huge amounts of really passionate young people that don't think the arts are for them, just because it's simply not accessible. I've always wanted to change that dynamic. I do think this latest kind of NPO funding round helps to really continue that transition."
He adds: "Young people coming up, people wanting to relocate and live their lives from the South and investment going from the South into the North can only be a good thing in terms of bringing people up to understand that the North has some incredible destinations that they can thrive and grow."
