So
it's probably a heresy to suggest that an Arena isn't really all that
vital. Except as a means of getting elected, anyway.
I
admit that I'm unlikely to be a regular patron of a new Arena. I've
just taken a look at the shows, and the kind of prices charged at
Newcastle and Nottingham, and I know that if I lived in either of
those cities I'd not be at the front of the queue for the hugely
expensive tickets. Arenas are a stage for the most popular
entertainers, the most expensive productions, and they have to be
big enough to pull in crowds from far afield on a scale that will pay
the bills and still deliver a profit. Me, I seem to get more out of
smaller scale, and more original entertainment, so that will still
get my custom.
It's
clear, though, that an Arena visit to see a favourite entertainer is
something special, whatever the price at the gate. That's why
existing Arenas do bring in the crowds from far and wide. It's why
Bristolians are prepared to travel over to Cardiff (not far) or up to
London (maybe with an overnight stay) for a big event. Given the
ticket prices, the travel is a minor cost – and arguably it adds to
making the occasion special.
I'm
guessing.... but if I was in the business of running an Arena, I'd
be taking a very cautious look at the potential market in Bristol
before I leapt in. That's why, reportedly, the SWRDA's plans fell
through two or three years back. The developers just weren't
interested, the sums didn't add up. If that was true then, it's
hard to believe that things are any different now. Unless there are
inducements.
The
preferred Arena site is still the diesel depot site alongside Temple
Meads. Now part of the Enterprise Zone, it's hemmed in by the A4 on
one side, the tidal Avon on the other, without any public access. A
bridge is to be built across the river from Cattle Market Road to
allow first the construction access, and, later, the customers.
Potentially, there's access from the Temple Meads platforms
too.
As
the site has already been given privileged planning freedoms, it's
most unlikely that the elected council, or the mayor, will play much
part in getting development kick-started. Of course, that won't stop
them queueing up to be associated with any progress on the site.
Yesterday
the Post published astory
on the lines that (a) part of the site is being temporarily gifted to
the Severn Project – an established food growing project that gives
therapeutic training to people recovering from drug dependency, and
that (b) we won't get an Arena tomorrow. The linking of these two
facts was clearly intentional, and the Post's usual website commentators,
not bothering to check the detail of the article, predictably found
it proved (yet again) that the council, drug users and vegetarians
are to blame for the international humiliation of our city.
The
only sure thing is that an Arena, even before it is built, will
provide a stage for political actors to read the lines they think
the audience wants to hear. Pity, that. There really are many more
important things that should occupy the minds of would-be mayors.
2 comments:
What are these more important things?
Education. Public safety. Transport. Pollution. Housing. Living Environment. Parks & Open Spaces. Democracy. Care of elderly and vulnerable. Planning. That's for starters.
Bear in mind these are things that the mayor will have responsibility for. An Arena, when it comes, will be business led, not council led.
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