Arena dreams 'need to stack up' financially

Dreams of building a new music and entertainment arena need to be based on offering something not already available and must "stack up financially", a mayor has warned.

Plans for a 5,000-seat venue in Redcar were scrapped by a developer last month and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen warned any new venue remained "years away" from opening.

Taking part in the regular BBC Radio Tees Hotseat, Houchen said the area could sustain a venue of a certain size, but it was vital it offered something different for artists and punters.

He also added a note of caution that such projects often came with "extortionate" costs and "they always overrun".

Houchen said any new arena would have to "differentiate" from existing venues.

"I don't think we necessarily need to accommodate for the giant stuff because we have got arenas and stadiums in the region that can do that," he said.

"But there is space for a 5,000 to 10,000 seater."

The mayor said there had been exploratory talks on the subject, but added: "We're years and years away from it.

"They are hundreds of millions of pounds these things and then they always overrun.

"We'd love to see one come but it's just making it stack up financially and who funds that."

Developers Coatham Arena Ltd had hoped to build a new entertainment venue on the site of the old Coatham Bowl concert hall in Redcar.

Announcing the end of the project last month, the company said "private investors are unwilling to take on the full financial risk during the planning stage of a project unsupported locally in the short term".