Another year has ticked by without Bristol’s much-anticipated new arena in Filton opening its doors. The saga of the city’s long-awaited venue, first announced over two decades ago, continued into 2024 as construction plans faced further delays.
Originally, the arena was set to be built on an unused plot near Temple Meads train station, south of the city centre. Despite the site, known as Arena Island, remaining vacant, remedial work has been carried out in preparation for Legal and General, a financial services firm, to construct offices there.
Instead, the proposed 19,000-seat venue is now earmarked for the old Brabazon aeroplane hangars on the city’s northern outskirts. However, these too remain unoccupied, with no signs of construction work commencing to transform them into a colossal music venue.
In the meantime, high-profile musicians are bypassing Bristol on their tours, opting instead to perform at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. Taylor Swift graced the stage there in June, and Oasis are set to follow suit in July next year; neither included Bristol on their tour itinerary.
The arena will be constructed and owned by YTL, a major Malaysian corporation that also owns Wessex Water and is developing a neighbouring housing estate. Construction is already underway on the Filton Airfield housing project, which is set to comprise a total of 6,500 homes, reports Bristol Live.
In February of last year, YTL was granted planning permission by South Gloucestershire Council to more than double the number of homes on the airfield. The ambitious plans also encompass new schools, eateries, parks, three hotels, student accommodation and a train station.
The airfield, which closed its doors in 2012, was previously owned by BAE Systems before being sold to YTL in 2015. In March of last year, YTL announced that the construction schedule for the arena had been delayed, pushing the opening date back to 2027, although preliminary work has already commenced.
The saga of the arena dates back to 2003, when it was initially planned to have a capacity of 10,000. The original site chosen was next to Temple Meads, at a former diesel depot, selected for its easy access by foot or train.
The venue was originally slated to open in 2008, but funding quickly became a contentious issue, leading to a dispute between Bristol City Council and developers over costs. Plans were scrapped in 2007 due to concerns that the project would not ‘be a good use of public money’.
However, the plans were resurrected in 2009, with architect and future mayor George Ferguson backing the Temple Meads location, while the council preferred a new site next to Bristol City’s Ashton Gate stadium. Mr Ferguson was elected mayor in 2012 and the Arena Island site was handed over to the council in 2015, paving the way for construction to commence.
In a turn of political fortunes, Mr Ferguson was defeated in the mayoral election by Labour’s Marvin Rees in 2016. The subsequent year saw renewed concerns over costs and proposals to relocate the arena site to Filton.
At the time, Mr Rees admitted the financial challenges, “What we’re seeing with the cost is a challenge and we need to deal with it. I’ve asked our consultants KPMG to consider every avenue. This includes raising private investment, thinking about other sites and considering designs which could be delivered within budget. Nothing is off the table because one way or another this city is going to get an arena it can afford.”
By 2018, tensions escalated over the location of the planned arena. The council acknowledged that they were entertaining YTL’s proposition to build the complex at Filton Airfield as an alternative, despite strong calls from opposition councillors and a throng of petitioners to keep the site adjacent to Temple Meads station.
Consultants disclosed that costs had risen alarmingly to £188.6 million, as per their value-for-money report.
Later that same year, Legal and General unmasked their plans for a different development, leading to Mr Rees officially scrapping the original blueprint for the arena at Temple Meads. Fast forward to 2020, YTL received the green light for their own arena project in Filton with promises of opening doors to concert-goers in 2023.
Yet, currently, those eager music fans remain on standby, still awaiting their first live event experience.