Seating plan Arena chief has eyes on increased 20,000 capacity

THE long-awaited YTL Arena in the old Brabazon Hangar buildings at Filton Airfield should open in the autumn of 2028 and could have an increased capacity of 20,000, the boss of the project has told the Post.

- Tristan CORK

Work to turn the 80-year-old hangar into a top-three biggest indoor music venue in the country is now under way.

YTL Arena chief executive Andrew Billingham confirmed that new planning and licensing approval would be required to increase the capacity from a currently agreed 17,500 up to 20,000, but he was ‘excited’ that tweaks to the design and layout of the arena at its maximum would see the Brabazon building match the O2 in London for capacity.

The project has been beset by delays, with initial predicted completion dates coming and going, but the work to convert the huge hangar into one of the country’s biggest indoor venues has reached a ‘key milestone,’ Mr Billingham said on a tour of the inside of the vast building.

That key milestone is that work to strip out all the internal elements of the Brabazon hangar’s former life as a vast aircraft factory, and work to demolish the external added-on office, plant and other buildings is nearly completed.

Once that has happened, work to remove the roof in stages will begin - that will enable the huge cranes to access the area to begin construction of the two-tiered amphitheatre structure.

During our visit teams of workers ripped down internal structures and walls, stripping back the building to its shell and frame.