Record year prompts arena expansion

THE Ricoh Arena is expanding its indoor exhibition space by an extra 1,500 sq m after hosting a record year of events.

Last year more than 650 exhibitions and events were held at the Coventry venue, a 23%  year-on-year increase.

To develop exhibitions and events at the venue further, a link is being created between the 6,000 sq m Jaguar Exhibition Hall down to Hall Three, giving organisers and visitors easy access to an additional 1,500 sq m of exhibition space.

Midlands construction firm Ideal Group has been appointed to carry out the work which is due for completion by the end of August.

The Executive Hire Show is expected to be one of the first exhibitions to use the whole event space in its new format, with 90% of stand space in the Jaguar Hall already booked for February 2017.

Andy Gibb, managing director at the Ricoh Arena, said: “While this may seem a small modification to the venue, we think access to more space will make a big difference to organisers whose events are growing every year.

“Organisers love the fact they can transform the current event space into what they want with very little restriction, so combining this liberal approach with even more event space in a central UK location makes the Ricoh Arena an unrivalled destination for events and exhibitions.

“The number of exhibitions and events hosted at the Ricoh Arena over the past year has really shown the true flexibility that the venue has to offer.

“We’re also looking to attract new events and exhibitions to help build on this strong performance, and linking these two spaces within the venue will help us to achieve that.”

Barry Butterworth, development manager at the Ricoh Arena, is working alongside Ideal Group to oversee the project.

He added: “Since the venue opened 11 years ago, Hall Three hasn’t been directly accessible from the Jaguar Exhibition Hall, but now this is changing it will make a big difference to what we can offer event organisers.

“Ease of access between the two spaces means that Hall Three could be used for more stands, for conferences or seminars or feature areas.”

Other events set to take place inside the Jaguar Exhibition Hall later this year include a live concert from Bollywood music legend Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in August, Champion of Champions snooker in November, and international netball in December.