HUGE ARENA PLAN FOR CITY
REVEALED: LOCATION FOR CARDIFF’S NEW 15,000-SEAT INDOOR ARENA
THE location for a new 15,000seater indoor arena in Cardiff is expected to be revealed later today.
A massive site in Cardiff Bay, which is currently home to County Hall and the nearby Red Dragon Centre, has been selected by Cardiff council as the preferred location for the project.
Officials say the £100m arena would bring thousands of new high spending visitors into the capital and the wider region each year.
Work on the 30-acre site, which was picked after a number of city sites were evaluated, could start in two years’ time.
The council will now work up a more detailed planning and business case for the scheme.
The project could see the existing County Hall building remaining where it is, with the arena and related commercial developments being built on the existing car parks of both the Red Dragon Centre and the council HQ.
Alternatively, the council has the option of moving to a new HQ elsewhere in the city, which would increase the commercial footprint of the arena project.
In that scenario one potential site for a new council base could be a six-acre city centre plot at Callaghan Square, which is owned by the Welsh Government, as part of large hub for public sector workers.
A new indoor arena has long been seen by the authority as the biggest missing piece in the city’s infrastructure. It would enhance the shopping and leisure on offer in the city centre and Cardiff Bay, as well as complementing what the Principality Stadium offers in terms of major sporting and concert events.
The Echo understands the council is in talks with British Airways Pension Fund, the owner of the Red Dragon Centre, with a view to it becoming a possible financial backer of the arena complex.
This could potentially see the Red Dragon Centre, which includes a cinema, being incorporated into the scheme.
The Atlantic Wharf site is three times bigger than the other locations assessed by the council, which included land at Callaghan Square and Dumballs Road, Cardiff Arms Park and the site of the existing Motorpoint Arena.
It also considered County Hall and the Red Dragon Centre as separate standalone locations.
Welsh Government Business Secretary Ken Skates recently said it was “crucially important” for Cardiff to have a bigger arena to attract more major events to the city and to Wales.
Discussions between the council with the Welsh Government over the public sector funding element of the proposed arena are continuing, including allowing the authority to commit more of its own financial resources.
This could see it recycling funding currently invested through the city’s enterprise zone to support its construction.
While subject to the final business plan, it is envisaged that capital costs would require an upfront contribution of around 50% from the public sector.
However, that could be recouped over the long-term from the rents of commercial tenants in the arena, as well as from the chosen arena operator.
There will also be revenue opportunities from associated multi-storey car parking and a potential naming rights deal for the arena itself.
Ancillary development would also provide a financial return. The council could explore taking an agreed percentage from concert and event ticket sales at the arena.
The existing Motorpoint Arena, which is operated by Live Nation, currently only has capacity for 7,500 spectators. A significant commercial success since it opened in 1993, it is estimated to make a £29m “gross value added” contribution to the regional economy each year.
However, in recent years, a number of larger arenas have been built around the UK, which has meant that Cardiff has not been able to exploit a growing and lucrative market for concerts and events targeting more than 10,000 spectators.
An option to build a new 15,000-seater indoor arena at the Motorpoint Arena site in the centre of the city, replacing the existing facility, was rejected, as it would have meant finding a temporary home during a two-year construction period.
Live Nation could nevertheless become the operator of a new arena.
And this could potentially see the existing Motorpoint Arena making way for a new mixed-use development scheme, which would be even bigger if the adjoining buildings and surface car park owned by property development firm Rapport is included.
As the council owns the freehold interest in the site, this could see a significant contribution being made towards the cost of a new arena.
The authority has ruled out seeking a funding contribution from the £1.2bn City Deal for the Cardiff Capital Region.
Instead, as previously reported, the major infrastructure project for the city from the deal will be a £40m contribution for the much-needed redevelopment of Cardiff Central Railway Station. This will allow it to cope with increasing passenger numbers, with numbers growing significantly once the core Valley Lines into the capital are electrified.
Meanwhile, public transport access to the arena would be significantly enhanced by a light rail or tram route from Cardiff Central to Cardiff Bay, in a next phase of the South Wales Metro project.