Which Arena will we play in?
A DECISION is looming on the future of Newcastle Metro Radio Arena after plans for a rival venue were revealed.
Last year, Gateshead Council unveiled plans for a £200m, 12,500-seater venue on the opposite side of the Tyne which would replace the arena. If those plans come to fruition, developer SMG Europe, which runs the existing arena, would abandon the Newcastle site, which opened in 1995.
Newcastle City Council has now said a potential developer has entered into an exclusivity arrangement over the arena.
It is expected that the arena will be demolished to make way for homes, offices and commercial buildings as part of the wider development of the Forth Yards area. Responding to a request for an update on the arena site from Lib Dem councillor Greg Stone, Coun Ged Bell told a council meeting: “There is a period of exclusivity and I am not able to discuss in public what is happening. What I can say on the land we are involved with around the arena is that discussions are ongoing over how that can be freed up.
“The west bank of the Tyne is an area of the town we all want to see improved.”
Coun Bell added that he hoped an announcement could be made on the site this summer.
He said the Forth Yards area, largely made up of derelict former industrial sites, is a “blot on the landscape”, particularly as it is the first thing visitors to Newcastle see as they approach on the train.
The new Gateshead venue could bring 300,000 visitors to the region, create 1,100 jobs and boost the local economy by £29.5m annually.