Bristol Arena will not open until 2026, says developer

The YTL Arena will be the biggest entertainment and conference space in the South West when finished

A long-awaited city concert arena will not open until late 2025 or early 2026.

The Bristol arena, originally planned to open in 2024, will potentially now not hold its first event until two years later than hoped.

CEO of developer YTL, Andrew Billingham, said Covid and "challenges" in the construction industry are behind the delay.

When completed, the arena - part of the Brabazon development - will have a capacity of 19,000.

The three Brabazon Hangars on Filton Airfield, once home to Concorde, are being developed into the arena, with conference space, after YTL bought the site in 2015.

In a statement released on Monday, Mr Billingham said "good progress" was being made on the arena, and YTL was entering "the final stages" of the design process.

The potential capacity for the arena has been increased from 17,000 to 19,000

But he added: "Given delays resulting from the impact of Covid and the general challenges in the construction market, our estimated opening is now late 2025 to early 2026.

"YTL is totally committed to opening Bristol's first major indoor music arena and entertainment complex.

"Work has begun on key pieces of infrastructure required including new road connections, establishing new power supplies and site preparation works."

In October it was announced that a new train station for the arena also faced delays and will not be ready for passengers until 2026.

"The train station at Brabazon is an important element and discussions continue on how this might be brought forward," added Mr Billingham.

YTL was given planning permission in October to build Brabazon Park, a huge new urban park which will sit alongside the arena.

The company has also announced it will be working with Bristol-based interior designers Studio B on the look of the building.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: "We recognise how the impacts of Covid and the difficulties in the construction market have impacted on everybody and so it's no surprise that YTL have also been affected by a delay.

"We remain delighted and excited that Bristol will have a world class arena that will bring all major acts and sporting events to the city and are grateful for YTL for taking on all the risk and costs that come with the project."