Bristol Arena shortlisted designs revealed

The Bristol Arena is due to open towards the end of 2017

Five shortlisted designs for a £91m entertainment arena in Bristol are to go on public display.

Bristol Arena, a 12,000-seat venue set to open in 2017, will be built in the Temple Quarter enterprise zone.

The companies in contention include the designers of London's Olympic Stadium and the Bilbao Arena in Spain.

The public will not be told which firm is responsible for each design until the successful team has been selected in March.

The deadline for comments from the public is 11 February

The judging panel includes the mayor, the council and RIBA and the winner will be announced in March

The Bristol Arena will be located close to Bristol Temple Meads railway station

The project is funded by the council and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership

The five teams were selected following a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) international design competition launched in August which generated entries from more than 30 architects worldwide.

A panel including Bristol's mayor George Ferguson, representatives from the council, RIBA and an "experienced music and performing arts promoter and a leading structural engineer" will choose the final design.

Mr Ferguson said: "The successful design must above all function well, whilst inspiring audiences and offering a great experience for artists."

The five shortlisted design teams are:

• Grimshaw Architects LLP - architects of the Eden Project

• Idom Ingeniería y Consultoría - designers of the Bilbao Arena

• Populous - architects of the London Olympic Stadium

• White Arkitekter - designers of the Kiruna city plan in Sweden

• Wilkinson Eyre - architects of the Liverpool Arena

The designs will be at various venues across the city and also available online.