Leeds Arena
Encyclopedia
Leeds Arena is the name of an under-construction arena in the city centre of Leeds
, West Yorkshire
. The Leeds Arena will be a 13,500 capacity entertainment focussed arena, and will be the first in the United Kingdom
to have a fan-shaped orientation.
has been one of the largest cities in the United Kingdom
without a major venue to hold music or sporting events. , Bristol and Leeds are the only major cities without an arena style venue. Previously, the Queen's Hall was used for popular music concerts but this was demolished in 1989. Since 1989, there have been a number of failed attempts at building a major venue in Leeds.
An arena has been long requested by residents in Leeds. The consultation on the Vision for Leeds 2004 to 2020 showed a strong demand from the public for a new arena, and the project became one of the city's 12 priorities. The Leeds Initiative formed a Cultural facilities task group to consider options. It appointed PMP consultants whose report outlined the viability of a Leeds Arena,and other potential projects such as a concert hall. The task group recommended that the Council proceed with the development of a 12,500 seat arena.
Whilst this study was taking place, campaigners including the Yorkshire Evening Post
lobbied for a new arena to be built in the city. This resulted in a widescale 'Leeds needs an arena' campaign that had endorsements from local artists including the Kaiser Chiefs as well as local businesses and residents. The campaign was well publicised in local media, and included popular Myspace and Facebook groups.
Two main bidders were involved in the competition to develop the arena. These were the Council owned land at Elland Road as one location which would have been developed by GMI
and land owned by Montpellier Estates
in Sweet Street, Holbeck
with Montpellier Estates being developer of the latter site. However in November 2008, Leeds City Council announced they had terminated the developer competition and chosen Claypit Lane as the site for the new arena and would proceed as the developer. This resulted in a legal challenge from Montpellier Estates.
Supermarket. The land the arena is being built on is the Claypit Lane Council car park and land formerly owned by Leeds Metropolitan University
. Demolition of the former Leeds Metropolitan building was completed in 2009.
Independent economic impact assessments conducted by Yorkshire Forward show that the new arena will bring over £25 million to the local economy every year and bring 300 full time jobs. The money provided by Leeds City Council will come from part of the proceeds from their sale of Leeds Bradford International Airport
in October 2007, Yorkshire Forward grant support and revenues from rent and commercial activities. The total scheme costs are estimated to be in the region of £80 million including land costs.
The arena will be constructed in a super theatre fan shaped format as opposed to the more conventional bowl or horse-shoe seating arrangement commonly used by most arenas in the United Kingdom.. The arena promises 'perfect sightlines' from each seat and the longest distance from the stage will be 68 metres as opposed to 95-110 metres at a traditionally designed Arena. According to the City Council, flat floor seating and 15 rows of retractable seating can be removed to create a huge floor area holding thousands of standing spectators. The interior design is flexible and the Leeds Arena will be able to accommodate a range of events including:
The external design was announced in August 2010. The external design has a honeycomb design. This design uses – a voronoi diagram
– to create cellular shapes that are visible on key approaches to the arena.
On an evening, the front of the building will have the ability to change colour or pattern dependant on the show or mood of the arena at the time.
, MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, who believe that the arena would adversely affect Sheffield Arena especially as the Leeds Arena would acquire funding from Yorkshire Forward
. However, Yorkshire Forward stated that they fully support the development of an arena in Leeds and that an independent economic impact assessment also showed that a Leeds Arena would be of benefit to the entire region. Subsequently, Yorkshire Forward reaffirmed support to provide funding to the scheme. However, following a decision by BIS, central government initially did not authorise Yorkshire Forward to provide funding to the scheme. Soon after, it was announced that £9.9 million funding was authorised by central government. This was met with fierce criticism from Sheffield MPs, but received positive responses in the Leeds City Region..
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. The Leeds Arena will be a 13,500 capacity entertainment focussed arena, and will be the first in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to have a fan-shaped orientation.
Public demand for an arena in Leeds
LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
has been one of the largest cities in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
without a major venue to hold music or sporting events. , Bristol and Leeds are the only major cities without an arena style venue. Previously, the Queen's Hall was used for popular music concerts but this was demolished in 1989. Since 1989, there have been a number of failed attempts at building a major venue in Leeds.
An arena has been long requested by residents in Leeds. The consultation on the Vision for Leeds 2004 to 2020 showed a strong demand from the public for a new arena, and the project became one of the city's 12 priorities. The Leeds Initiative formed a Cultural facilities task group to consider options. It appointed PMP consultants whose report outlined the viability of a Leeds Arena,and other potential projects such as a concert hall. The task group recommended that the Council proceed with the development of a 12,500 seat arena.
Whilst this study was taking place, campaigners including the Yorkshire Evening Post
Yorkshire Evening Post
The Yorkshire Evening Post is a daily evening publication published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
lobbied for a new arena to be built in the city. This resulted in a widescale 'Leeds needs an arena' campaign that had endorsements from local artists including the Kaiser Chiefs as well as local businesses and residents. The campaign was well publicised in local media, and included popular Myspace and Facebook groups.
Developer and operator competition
Following this, competitions began to find an operator and developer for an arena. In March 2008, SMG were chosen as the future operators of the Leeds Arena, following world wide interest from potential operators in the scheme. SMG also operate arenas in Newcastle, Belfast and Manchester and operate over 200 venues worldwide. The addition of Leeds strengthens their position in the UK Arena market. SMG's European managing director has stated that Leeds will be its "flagship venue" in Europe and that they expect Leeds Arena "to be in the top 10 in the world within two to three years of opening".Two main bidders were involved in the competition to develop the arena. These were the Council owned land at Elland Road as one location which would have been developed by GMI
GMI
GMI may refer to:* Germania * Kettering University * Greenwich Maritime Institute, a department of the University of Greenwich* GMI...
and land owned by Montpellier Estates
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
in Sweet Street, Holbeck
Holbeck
Holbeck is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The district begins on the southern edge of the Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 Leeds postcode area. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the only motorway that passes through the area since...
with Montpellier Estates being developer of the latter site. However in November 2008, Leeds City Council announced they had terminated the developer competition and chosen Claypit Lane as the site for the new arena and would proceed as the developer. This resulted in a legal challenge from Montpellier Estates.
Current plans
The arena's location, on Claypit Lane is situated at the Northern Quarter of Leeds city centre, behind the Merrion Centre and MorrisonsMorrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
Supermarket. The land the arena is being built on is the Claypit Lane Council car park and land formerly owned by Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
. Demolition of the former Leeds Metropolitan building was completed in 2009.
Independent economic impact assessments conducted by Yorkshire Forward show that the new arena will bring over £25 million to the local economy every year and bring 300 full time jobs. The money provided by Leeds City Council will come from part of the proceeds from their sale of Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport
Leeds Bradford International Airport is located at Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, northwest of Leeds city centre itself...
in October 2007, Yorkshire Forward grant support and revenues from rent and commercial activities. The total scheme costs are estimated to be in the region of £80 million including land costs.
The arena will be constructed in a super theatre fan shaped format as opposed to the more conventional bowl or horse-shoe seating arrangement commonly used by most arenas in the United Kingdom.. The arena promises 'perfect sightlines' from each seat and the longest distance from the stage will be 68 metres as opposed to 95-110 metres at a traditionally designed Arena. According to the City Council, flat floor seating and 15 rows of retractable seating can be removed to create a huge floor area holding thousands of standing spectators. The interior design is flexible and the Leeds Arena will be able to accommodate a range of events including:
- World class music concerts in various configurations
- Comedy events
- Family shows, such as "Walking with Dinosaurs"
- Ice dance shows and family dance shows
- Basketball
- Tennis
- Boxing/ Wrestling/ UFC
- Shows ranging from 1500 capacity to 13,500 capacity
The external design was announced in August 2010. The external design has a honeycomb design. This design uses – a voronoi diagram
Voronoi diagram
In mathematics, a Voronoi diagram is a special kind of decomposition of a given space, e.g., a metric space, determined by distances to a specified family of objects in the space...
– to create cellular shapes that are visible on key approaches to the arena.
On an evening, the front of the building will have the ability to change colour or pattern dependant on the show or mood of the arena at the time.
Construction
Leeds Arena is officially under construction as of May 2011 with the ground braking taking place in the February.Opposition from South Yorkshire
Yorkshire Forward's support and intended £18 million funding has gained much publicity and has been subject to fierce political fighting. Some critics outlined that public funding is common on most recent Arena developments as seen in the Manchester, Nottingham and Liverpool developments. Each arena gained public funding and this was not protested by other established arenas. However, there was some opposition to the Leeds Arena from the owners of Sheffield Arena and Clive BettsClive Betts
Clive James Charles Betts is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Attercliffe from 1992 to 2010, when he became Member of Parliament for Sheffield South East.- Early life :...
, MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, who believe that the arena would adversely affect Sheffield Arena especially as the Leeds Arena would acquire funding from Yorkshire Forward
Yorkshire Forward
Yorkshire Forward is the regional development agency for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the United Kingdom. It supports the development of business in the region by encouraging public and private investment in education, skills, environment and infrastructure...
. However, Yorkshire Forward stated that they fully support the development of an arena in Leeds and that an independent economic impact assessment also showed that a Leeds Arena would be of benefit to the entire region. Subsequently, Yorkshire Forward reaffirmed support to provide funding to the scheme. However, following a decision by BIS, central government initially did not authorise Yorkshire Forward to provide funding to the scheme. Soon after, it was announced that £9.9 million funding was authorised by central government. This was met with fierce criticism from Sheffield MPs, but received positive responses in the Leeds City Region..