New 5,000-seat arena plan for West Yorkshire

The arena could be used for professional basketball, netball and ice hockey

Plans for a new 5,000-seat indoor sports arena to be built in West Yorkshire are to be discussed by council leaders.

If approved, the venue could host professional basketball, netball and ice hockey, with profits being reinvested in grassroots sports facilities across the region, according to West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

A year-long feasibility study has recommended Leeds as the preferred location, due to its sizeable catchment area and being "the largest corporate market" in the region.

However, other locations "could conceivably sustain a new indoor sports arena," according to a report prepared for the meeting of the combined authority later.

The study was approved in summer 2024 by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin after a presentation from University of Leeds academic and basketball commentator Dr Mark Mills, who suggested the facility could be a "game changer" for the region.

A report estimated the arena would cost between £48m and £57m to build.

While it found Leeds was the most appropriate location, the study said there was likely to be competition from other local authorities in West Yorkshire, as the arena would provide great "social and economic benefits" to the chosen ward.

City of Leeds Basketball's Matt Newby believes Leeds is an ideal location for the new arena

Matt Newby is a director at the City of Leeds Basketball Club and Foundation, which has 22 teams for young people aged 11 to 18.

They also run community programmes and an academy for students aged 16 and older, who compete at national level.

"If you look at the templates for sporting arenas in the country, specifically for basketball and netball, there's some really strong exemplars," he said.

"Those facilities have set new standards for community development, and they offer the outlet for the elite strands too.

"There isn't a huge amount of arena spaces that can host an international level basketball game.

"The National Performance Centre in Manchester is one, Newcastle Arena is one, then it's the Copperbox and the O2 (in London) - so there is a need for these mid-size arenas that cater solely for sport."

He said the "sporting heritage of Leeds" lent itself to the project.

'Fundamental to sport'

The study proposed two operation models for the scheme:

• One accommodating basketball and netball - turning a profit of £214,000 by third year of operating

• One accommodating basketball, netball and ice hockey - turning a profit of £173,000 by third year of operating

Given the projected earnings would not cover the cost of the arena, extra funding sources would be required, the report said.

In his presentation last year, Dr Mills told the authority that more under-16s played basketball than rugby and cricket combined, but the sport got a fraction of the funding of those two sports.

He argued that a lack of high-standard facilities was holding young people back from pursuing basketball at a higher level, and that a bespoke arena would help combat this.

Mr Newby added: "Basketball lends itself to people of all backgrounds.

"It's the highest indoor participation sport in the country, it lends itself to male and female athletes and that's really important.

"To have a facility like this embedded in the community, providing the foundation for wholesale pathways, is fundamental to developing the sport.

"When you bring elite men and women into a space, and young people get to see it first hand, that tends to be more powerful than anything."

Any potential site would be required to have at least 10,000 square metres of space, be within one mile (1.6km) of a train station and two miles (3.2km) of a motorway junction, and have 1.5 million people living within a 30-minute drive from the venue, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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