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Swansea Arena

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Coordinates: 51°36′58″N 3°56′33″W / 51.6160°N 3.9424°W / 51.6160; -3.9424
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Swansea Building Society Arena
Arena Abertawe
Map
AddressOystermouth Road,
Swansea,
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°36′58″N 3°56′33″W / 51.6160°N 3.9424°W / 51.6160; -3.9424
Elevation7 metres (23 ft)
OwnerCity and County of Swansea Council
OperatorATG Entertainment
Capacity3,500 (concerts)
2,196 (theatre)
788 (conference)
Construction
Broke groundNovember 2019
Opened3 March 2022 (2022-03-03)
Years active2022–present
Construction cost£48 million[1]
ArchitectACME
Project managerPadstone
Structural engineerCurtins
Main contractorsBuckingham Group Contracting Ltd
Website
www.swansea-arena.co.uk

Swansea Arena (Welsh: Arena Abertawe), called Swansea Building Society Arena for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose indoor arena that can hold up to 3,500 people located in Swansea, Wales. Part of a £135 million regeneration project, construction began in 2019 and the venue opened in March 2022. The arena has a gold-coloured facade and features a wraparound display made of 93,000 LEDs, making it the largest digital facade in the United Kingdom.

Phase one of the wider Copr Bay [cy] project also included a new gold-painted footbridge over Oystermouth Road which links the arena site to a new apartment complex and the city centre, an adjacent coastal-themed public park with a pavilion-style cafe restaurant and multi-storey car park underneath it, retail units on Cupid Way and a proposed hotel with a rooftop bar sited between the arena and the Swansea LC.

History

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Construction of the new Swansea Arena and Copr Bay [cy] footbridge (May 2021)

In 2015, Swansea Council announced a £135 million project to transform the Swansea Bay area.[2] The project, named Copr Bay [cy], included the construction of an arena designed by architecture firm ACME.[3] Construction began in 2019 with Buckingham Group as the principal contractor.[4] After an eighteen month search for an operator, Ambassador Theatre Group signed a lease with the city's council to rent the venue for thirty years.[5][6] The construction took longer than expected due to security concerns following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.[7]

The arena opened to the public on 3 March 2022 after the inaugural event, a Royal Blood concert, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] The official opening was attended by the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.[2] In its first year the venue hosted 240,000 people.[9]

On 28 January 2025, Swansea Building Society announced a five-year naming rights deal with the arena, renaming the venue to Swansea Building Society Arena.[10][11]

Design and architecture

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The arena and Copr Bay Bridge (2024)

The arena's exterior is constructed of gold-coloured aluminum panels. The facade has a built-in wraparound display made of 93,000 LED lights, which designers say is the largest in the United Kingdom.[1][12]

The arena's hospitality area was designed to "maximise revenue"[13] and can be quickly transformed for hosting different events.[14] The arena's main auditorium holds 3,500 through a combination of seating and standing configurations and the conference theater has 750 seats. There are also meeting rooms to hire.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Williams, Fran (25 March 2022). "ACME completes gold-coloured arena in Swansea". The Architects’ Journal. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b Cyngor Abertawe (4 March 2022). "Agoriad swyddogol cyrchfan £135m Bae Copr Abertawe". Abertawe (in Welsh). Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  3. ^ Dowrick, Molly (19 December 2021). "Guide to the new Copr Bay in Swansea". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  4. ^ Jones, Rachel (2 August 2019). "Swansea Arena Construction Work Begins as Part of £120M Transformation". Business News Wales. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Swansea indoor arena deal signed with ATG". BBC News. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  6. ^ Youle, Richard (15 March 2023). "The behind-the scenes story of Swansea Arena one year on from its opening". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 May 2025. Venue director Mrs Mart, of Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), which rents the arena from Swansea Council as part of a 30-year lease
  7. ^ Pitcher, Greg (29 November 2018). "Costs rise on Acme's Swansea Central in wake of Manchester Arena bombing". The Architects’ Journal. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  8. ^ Dowrick, Molly (4 February 2022). "Royal Blood gig at new Swansea Arena delayed 'due to covid'". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Arena welcomed close to 240,000 visitors in first year". Swansea. March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  10. ^ Barry, Sion (3 February 2025). "New naming rights deal for Swansea Arena". Business Live. Archived from the original on 17 February 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Swansea Building Society Arena - a new era for live entertainment and events". www.swansea-bs.co.uk. 28 January 2025. Archived from the original on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Swansea Arena". ACME. After dawn, the facade awakes to life, with 100.000 individually programmable LEDs creating the largest digital facade in the UK
  13. ^ "Copr Bay". AFL Architects. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Swansea Building Society Arena". www.visitwales.com. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  15. ^ Peregrine, Chris (Mar 10, 2022). "Swansea Arena is now open and it's ready to deliver that wow factor". Wales Online. Retrieved Jun 5, 2025.
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