City arena on track for 2027 say backers
The people behind the planned new 8,500 capacity concert arena at Edinburgh Park remain confident that work will start on the site next year, with acts hitting the stage in 2027.
AEG Europe, which operates the O2 Arena in London and the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin, is behind the plans to build an eagerly anticipated concert arena right behind Edinburgh Park train and tram station, close to the South Gyle, giving the city something it is sorely lacking.
The largest permanent concert hall venue in the Capital is currently the 3,059-capacity Playhouse Theatre at Greenside Place.
With the planning consultation stage now over, AEG Europe hopes to get approval for its Edinburgh Park arena plans in the coming months.
AEG Europe’s executive vice-president for real estate and development, Alistair Wood, said: “The planning consultation has finished and the submission was met with a wide range of support, as well as some anticipated concerns around issues such as customer flow, transport and congestion.
“We are currently working through all of this feedback and are hopeful of a planning decision being delivered in the early summer.
“We’ve started discussions with building contractors. All going well from a planning permission perspective, the aim is to be on-site in 2025, with the first event delivered in 2027.
“There is no confirmed timetable as of yet, but we are optimistic about our submission and are hoping to hear positive news in the summer.”
Despite problems at the new Co-op Live arena in Manchester making the news recently, Mr Wood and the team at AEG Europe remain confident that acts will be taking to the stage at the Edinburgh Park arena in three years’ time.
He said: “Delivering buildings of this nature presents many challenges and underpins the vital importance of planning, preparation and precision. Our aims remain the same as they have always been – to be on site in 2025 and delivering the first event in 2027.”
We are hopeful of a planning decision being delivered in the early summer