Management reshuffle for Sheffield Arena

THE owners of the Sheffield Arena, the Sheffield City Trust, are going it alone to manage the £34m site, after partnering with entertainment giant Live Nation for several years.

SCT through its management company Sheffield International Venues (SIV) have operated the site since its opening in 1991.

The Attercliffe arena has a capacity of 13,000 and holds concerts, conferences and is home to the Sheffield Steelers ice hockey team.

SIV chief executive Steve Brailey said: “We have had an excellent relationship with Live Nation. They have been a top class management organisation for the venue, delivering a great programme of events.

“SCT is under continued pressure to reduce the subsidy it receives from Sheffield City Council and we are looking to maximise the return from all our commercial activities.

“We have an experienced management team and the Arena will compliment other venues such as Sheffield City Hall. All employees at the Arena will transfer to SIV and we will create a small number of additional jobs in Sheffield through transferring central admin from Live Nation offices back into Sheffield,” added Mr Brailey.

Paul Latham, chief operating officer for Live Nation in the UK and Ireland, said: “I was in the original team that pitched to win the tender to operate the Sheffield Arena in the late 1990`s so it is both personally and professionally disappointing that we will no longer be managing this great facility.

“That said we have had a good working relationship with the team at SIV and we fully understand the financial strictures they continue to have to work under.

“Live Nation leave behind a legacy of fabulous events that can only be staged, and managed, by the superlative team that have been at the heart of Sheffield Arena for many years.”