Preferred bidder chosen for Cardiff indoor arena

Cardiff Council has identified Live Nation as its preferred bidder for a new 15,000-capacity indoor arena in Cardiff Bay.

The new venue will cost around £150M to build and will attract more than one million visitors and an estimated £100M into the local economy every year. It will also deliver new jobs for local people, with over 2,000 jobs created during its three-year build programme.

Cardiff Council Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: “We remain committed to delivering a new indoor arena and we have taken a big step forwards.

“We believe the new arena will have a similar impact on Cardiff Bay, as St David’s 2 had on the city centre. It will act as a major catalyst for the next-phase regeneration of Cardiff Bay delivering new jobs and opportunities where they are most needed.”

Cabinet Member for Investment and Development, Cllr Russell Goodway, said: “The Arena will be located in close proximity to many of Cardiff’s most disadvantaged communities and we want those communities to benefit from the job opportunities which will become available.

“The city’s strategy is to establish the Cardiff Arena as a top tier UK arena and to make it the premier arena in the south west region of England and Wales.

“Sound Diplomacy – the internationally-renowned advisors on the music industry – believe the arena will also become a fundamental component of Cardiff’s ‘Music City’ strategy. They say it will have ‘a positive impact at all levels of the live music ecosystem from the grassroots venues to our major spaces” and it will support the development of a home-grown industry.”