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New Cardiff Bay Arena

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This article is about the proposed indoor arena. For the concert and exhibition arena, see Cardiff International Arena. For the temporary ice rink, see Cardiff Arena.
New Cardiff Bay Arena
Atlantic Wharf Arena
Rendering of the proposed arena
LocationAtlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay
OwnerCardiff Council
OperatorLive Nation UK
Oak View Group
Capacity15,358 (seated)
Construction
Broke ground2025 (projected)
Opened2027 (projected)
Construction cost£250 million (projected)
ArchitectPopulous, HOK
BuilderMcLaren Construction Group (TBC)
General contractorWSP Global, Turner & Townsend
Main contractorsRobertson Group
Website
Project website

New Cardiff Bay Arena, also referred to as Atlantic Wharf Arena, is a planned indoor arena to be located in Atlantic Wharf, a southern area of the city of Cardiff, Wales. The multi-purpose 15,000 capacity arena will be built on a site near to Cardiff Bay's Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) and forms part of a wider mixed-use development slated for the area.

Following a number of delays, work to regenerate the wharf area is projected to start in 2025 and is expected to be undertaken in four phases over multiple years: the first being the construction of the arena, WMC's digital and "immersive" arts theatre, a replacement hotel and multi-storey car park followed by the relocation of the Red Dragon Centre's tenants into a new complex. The third phase of the masterplan would include a new office space delivered along with an additional hotel and finally new homes and apartments, with potential for more commercial space; the latter neighbourhood phase is dependant on proposed plans being approved to replace Cardiff Council's ageing County Hall with a new smaller purpose-built building.[1][2]

Background and location

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Cardiff International Arena is the city centre's indoor arena; the purpose-built venue lacks the capacity to host large-scale events
Part of the Atlantic Wharf site (pictured in 2014) outlined for redevelopment; to the left is the current Red Dragon Centre and surface car park, with Cardiff Council’s County Hall in the far background

In November 2018, it was reported that a 15,000-seat indoor arena would be built on the site of the Red Dragon Centre, a large entertainment and leisure complex in the south of the city.[3] The Atlantic Wharf site was chosen over six other potential sites, including Callaghan Square near Cardiff Central railway station, the 5,000-seat Cardiff International Arena (CIA), with an arena suggested as part of a £150m redevelopment of Cardiff Arms Park.[4] Currently the city centre lacks a large multi-purpose indoor venue suitable for hosting a number of major sporting and music events, such as Adele concerts, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the Gymnastics World Championships, with a 10 to 15,000 capacity to bridge the significant gap between that of the CIA and the Millennium Stadium, where the majority of large-scale events are hosted.[5]

The current Red Dragon Centre is expected to be demolished in the coming years and replaced by a new leisure complex.[6] Tenants would migrate over to the new property while the remaining parts of the project are built. A planning application for the arena was expected to be submitted in July 2019.[3] On 17 December 2019, it was announced that Cardiff Council's cabinet had been granted permission for the local authority to purchase the Red Dragon Centre from the British Airways Pension Fund (BAPF) for an undisclosed sum. An element of the purchase price will only be payable to the pension fund when a planning application is submitted for the new arena project on any part of the 30 acres (12 ha) Atlantic Wharf site (the combined County Hall on Schooner Way and Red Dragon Centre on Hemingway Road) within a 10 year period.[7] The development area also covers parts of Lloyd George Avenue and Silurian Park.[8]

Design and construction

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The council aimed to appoint a development partner and operator for the new arena by April 2020 and for a detailed planning application to be submitted by the selected developer before September 2020.[9] Construction work was first projected to begin in May 2021 so the arena could open in June 2023.[10] The new arena was expected to be based on the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.[11]

Live Nation UK, the operator and leaseholder of the city centre's Motorpoint Arena, has approached the council with a view to operating the new venue if it is built.[12] On 27 November 2020, Live Nation and builders Robertson Group were announced as the winning bidders to operate and construct the venue. Entertainment investors Oak View Group are also part of the consortium.[13] Live Nation subsequently agreed to make a £100m financial contribution towards the project to cover increased costs and would commit to a future long-term lease of the venue.[14]

In October 2023, it was revealed that the arena's dimensions and exterior design had been significantly revised by Populous as part of wider alterations to the project due to rising material costs; the seating bowl capacity was reduced from 17,000 (that was initially approved by the council in March 2022[15]) to a more flexible 15,358, with the opening date now pushed back until 2026.[16][17] Following the redesign to achieve 'greater cost certainty', the arena is now projected to cost £250 million; due to inflation the original design had increased by one hundred million to £280 million. The price includes the rebuild and relocation of the hotel next to the centre. A planning application for the original design proposed by HOK, inspired by the waterfront, docks and the city’s historical coal and steel industries,[18] had been submitted in January 2022, and was granted full planning permission by Cardiff Council in February 2023. It was hoped that it would achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating and was described as a 'bold lump of coal' by some in the media. The new compact design by Populous features a smaller, more rectangular shape with a 'swoop' above the main facade, two illuminated arches on each side and increased glazing, with a lighter bronze colour palette and light gold soffits designed to complement key surrounding buildings and was inspired by the Welsh mountains.[19] The following month it was reported that enabling works were now expected to begin in January 2024, in preparation for construction work to start in June that year.[20] An update in August 2024 reported that the work was to start sometime in 2025 with the arena expected to open in the second half of 2027.[14] In October, it was reported that McLaren Construction Group were now favourite to win the contract to build the arena as the remaining rival bidder Vinci SA is thought to be no longer in the running.[21] The arena is projected to deliver between 130 and 150 events per annum and an additional 1.5 million visitors to Cardiff Bay each year.[22]

Futher plans

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Further plans, that could form part of a £500m regeneration scheme, include waterfront apartments, bars and restaurants, a cinema complex and a hotel.[10] To be built alongside the arena is a proposed new stand-alone 550-seater digital and "immersive" arts theatre that would include an exhibition space on the ground floor and facilities for production, rehearsal and training. The new theatre, that forms the third phase of development of the WMC, will be opposite the existing main building of the WMC (phase 1 and 2 opened in 2004 and 2009 respectively) and located in the car park of the Atlantic Wharf and part of the parking area of Cardiff Council’s County Hall.[23][24] A new 900-space multi-storey car park (MSCP) will also be built on the existing surface car parking and stacked into a much smaller area enabling the site to be regenerated. The new car park is part of a commitment from the council in support of the new indoor arena and is required to meet the terms of the leases of tenants of the Red Dragon Centre;[25] the council confirmed it was seeking permission to enter a build contract with Goldbeck Construction for the theatre and multi-storey car park, the latter of which could be built by the end of next year. Cardiff Council originally intended for the MSCP to have a larger capacity with 1,300 spaces,[26] but in January 2024 instead opted to purchase the existing Q-Park in Pierhead Street.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Robertson gets green light for £150m Cardiff arena". Construction Enquirer. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Demolition of huge city building for new council offices takes step forward". Barry And District News. 25 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "15,000 indoor arena set for Cardiff Bay". BBC. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  4. ^ "£110m Cardiff arena site revealed". 9 February 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Major events arena 'crucial' for Wales, says minister". 17 June 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  6. ^ O'Neill, Ryan (May 12, 2024). "The entertainment complex that hosted bowling and parties and is being torn down". Wales Online. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  7. ^ Hanratty, Neil (19 December 2019). "Cardiff Council Cabinet Report: Indoor Arena Update". www.cardiff.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  8. ^ Lewis, Ffion (July 25, 2023). "The changes being proposed to the £280m Cardiff Arena project as costs soar". Wales Online. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  9. ^ "Cardiff arena plans given green light". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  10. ^ a b Howard, Bronte (December 13, 2019). "Massive indoor arena in Cardiff Bay planned for 2023". walesonline. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. ^ Barry, Sion (January 28, 2020). "The bold £500m development for Cardiff Bay with an indoor arena at its heart". birminghampost.
  12. ^ Ltd, Insider Media. "Cabinet to authorise negotiations on land purchase for arena". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Cardiff Indoor Arena: Thousands of jobs could be created by construction". November 27, 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ a b Barry, Sion (13 August 2024). "Major update on plans for 15,000-seater Cardiff indoor arena". Wales Online. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  15. ^ Gregory, Rhys (16 March 2022). "Green light for multi-million-pound Cardiff Arena plans". Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  16. ^ Ridley, Rob (20 October 2023). "Cardiff arena plans revised, Stoke project axed". The Stadium Business. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  17. ^ Peskett, Ted (19 October 2023). "New design agreed for major new Cardiff Bay arena". Wales Online. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  18. ^ "HOK's London Studio Receives Planning Approval for Two UK Arenas". HOK. March 18, 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  19. ^ Highfield, Anna (October 27, 2023). "Populous overhauls HOK's Cardiff arena design after material costs soar". Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Cardiff's new Indoor Arena moves into the development phase". www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  21. ^ Rogers, Dave (24 October 2024). "Favourite emerges on Cardiff Arena scheme". Building. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  22. ^ "Atlantic Wharf". Cardiff Capital Region. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  23. ^ "New 550-capacity theatre planned for capital". BBC. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  24. ^ "The new theatre Wales Millennium Centre wants to build in Cardiff Bay". Wales Online. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  25. ^ "New Multi-Storey Car Park set to be built in Cardiff Bay". www.cardiffnewsroom.co.uk. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  26. ^ Seabrook, Alex (July 12, 2021). "Multi-storey car park planned for Cardiff Bay near to arena". Wales Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  27. ^ Mansfield, Mark (October 11, 2024). "Multi-million pound redevelopment takes another step forward". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
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