{"id":46579,"date":"2026-09-22T07:45:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/south-west\/?p=46579"},"modified":"2026-09-22T09:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T08:03:19","slug":"46579","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/south-west\/news\/46579-46579","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: How the growth of arenas is reshaping the regional live music industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

More of us than ever are watching our favourite acts in vast arenas in our major regional cities \u2013 and so helping redraw the UK\u2019s live music map.<\/p>\n

But by the time the long-delayed 20,000-capacity Aviva Arena opens in Bristol in late 2028, the indoor live entertainment market will be at near-saturation point.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Manchester’s AO Arena<\/p><\/div>\n

Big venues are big business. While London\u2019s O2 Arena led the way by selling nearly 3m tickets across 239 performances last year – 11.5% up on 2024 – the regions weren\u2019t far behind.<\/p>\n

Manchester\u2019s Co-op Live, the UK\u2019s largest arena with a 23,500 capacity, has sold more than 4m tickets sold for 220 events since it opened two years ago.<\/p>\n

The pulling power of these super-venues means Manchester can support the country\u2019s two largest \u2013 the city\u2019s AO Arena\u2019s capacity is just 500 fewer than Co-op Live\u2019s.<\/p>\n

That has enabled it to end London\u2019s stranglehold on the music industry\u2019s biggest events, with the Co-op Live luring both The Brit Awards and the MOBOs away from the capital for the first time.<\/p>\n

But while arenas have changed the regional music landscape, the flipside to their success has been the huge decline in grassroots venues.<\/p>\n

Over half of smaller, independent music venues are operating at a loss, according to the charity Music Venue Trust (MVT), with on average one closing down every week, meaning more than 35% of all small concert spaces have shut over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n

MVT says, as a result, 175 towns and cities that once hosted regular grassroots music tours have been cut off or lack accessible local performance space, including places with proud music heritages such as Leicester, Edinburgh, Hull and Stoke-on-Trent.<\/p>\n

While new-generation arenas are pulling in the ever-larger crowds – and the revenue – big indoor venues are nothing new. The first opened in Wembley in 1934 to host the British Empire Games.<\/p>\n

Although primarily housing a large swimming pool, over time it evolved into the capital\u2019s premier indoor music space with a 12,500 capacity.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The OVO Hydro, Glasgow<\/p><\/div>\n

At the height of the Swinging Sixties, it hosted the NME Awards, with The Beatles playing at the event in 1964, 1965 and 1966 \u2013 the band\u2019s last scheduled UK live performance.<\/p>\n

The regions didn\u2019t start catching up until 1980 when the first of a new generation of purpose-built venues, the Birmingham International Arena (now the 15,685-capacity bp pulse LIVE) opened in 1980.<\/p>\n

Within 15 years the AO Arena in Manchester, Birmingham\u2019s Utilita Arena and the Utilita Arena Sheffield had become established stops on many performers\u2019 tour itinerary.<\/p>\n

Nottingham\u2019s 10,000-capaity Motorpoint Arena followed in 2000 with Glasgow\u2019s 14,500-capacity OVO Hydro and the First Direct Arena in Leeds opening in 2013.<\/p>\n

Music fans living in most parts of the UK were now within a couple of hours’ drive or train journey from seeing their favourite acts in an arena \u2013 except in the West Country.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, as the biggest city in the South outside London – and having seen the economic and cultural boost of arenas in other places – Bristol\u2019s politicians wanted their own.<\/p>\n

But a series of failed attempts dating back to the late 1990s left Bristol without a major indoor venue. Sites earmarked near Bristol City\u2019s Ashton Gate stadium in the south of the city and on a former diesel depot near Temple Meads station never materialised as costs spiralled.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s first elected mayor, architect and property developer George Ferguson – who stood as an independent – wanted the planned \u00a3100m, 12,000-capacity, council-owned arena next to Temple Meads to be his political legacy.<\/p>\n

Despite pledging in 2012 it would \u201cbe built within three years\u201d, after several redesigns and false starts it never materialised.<\/p>\n

His successor, Labour\u2019s Marvin Rees, scrapped the idea altogether in favour of Malaysian conglomerate YTL\u2019s rival scheme to utilise a former aircraft hangar on land it acquired from Airbus north of the city and where it is building a new 6,500-home estate and 3.5 m sq ft commercial development.<\/p>\n

\"\"

How the inside of Bristol’s Aviva Arena will look<\/p><\/div>\n

Unlike the Temple Meads plan, the cost would not directly falling on Bristol council taxpayers \u2013 and YTL, through its YTL Live subsidiary, has since struck a multi-million pound naming and sponsorship agreement with insurance group Aviva.<\/p>\n

The 20,000-capacity Aviva Arena, designed by Grimshaw Architects, will be the UK\u2019s third largest and among the five biggest in Europe, with YTL expecting 1.4m people to attend live music, sports and entertainment each year following its opening in 2028.<\/p>\n

There’s no lack of ambition at YTL over what is its first venture into the arena sector, with hints that, once bedded in, the venue will be touted as a future host of The Brits.<\/p>\n

Around the same time, across the Severn Estuary, Cardiff will unveil its 16,500-capacity Atlantic Wharf Arena, the largest in Wales, ushering in a new generation of venues with a new focus on maximising income as well as the visitor experience.<\/p>\n

The Aviva Arena, in a nod to the fact that all the UK\u2019s Concordes were built in the hangar, will launch a Supersonic VIP package featuring exclusive pre-show performances, a dedicated members’ lounge and restaurant, private balconies, priority parking and private VIP entrances.<\/p>\n

It will also have a mix of bars, restaurants and lounges, including what will be named the Runway Bar, which will run the entire width of the hangar with a capacity for 3,000 people.<\/p>\n

Such income streams are essential as promoters set the cost of tickets to many arena events and give the venue a cut which typically amounts to around 60% of their revenue.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The interior of Bristol’s Aviva Arena<\/p><\/div>\n

And as tours get bigger and costs soar, some acts that previously staged arena tours are now sticking to residencies in one or two venues.<\/p>\n

The same costs are piling even more pressure on smaller venues.<\/p>\n

In Bristol, a city known for its fiercely independent music scene, YTL Live CEO Andrew Billingham insists the Aviva Arena will be part of the solution.<\/p>\n

Describing it as \u201cone of the most exciting and sustainable live entertainment venues anywhere in the world\u201d, he adds: \u201cAviva Arena will put Bristol firmly on the global touring map, delivering unforgettable experiences for fans and artists alike while creating lasting benefits for the city and the wider region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe arena will become a platform for local talent to grow, thrive, and shine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are already exploring ways to support emerging artists who are building their audience and fanbases.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur aim is clear: to ensure that Aviva Arena contributes positively and sustainably to the entire live-music landscape, from emerging talent to headline artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While vast venues are boosting cities outside London, the flipside is the closure of small music clubs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":272345,"featured_media":36668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137137,79,127687],"coauthors":[137101],"class_list":["post-46579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-creative","category-regeneration","tag-east-midlands","tag-featured-story","tag-national","tag-northwest","tag-scotland","tag-south-west","tag-west-midlands","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\nAnalysis: How the growth of arenas is reshaping the regional live music industry - South West<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/south-west\/news\/46579-46579\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Analysis: How the growth of arenas is reshaping the regional live music industry - 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