The opening of Bistol's long-awaited arena has been delayed until 2025 at the earliest, the developers behind the project have confirmed. The YTL Arena, which is being created from the conversion of the huge Brabazon Hangar at the old Filton Airfield, won’t now open for its first gig until late 2025 or early 2026 - but the venue will be even bigger - YTL Developments has said.
The capacity of the arena is to be increased from 17,000 to 19,000 by "improving the design", the Malaysian firm added. The YTL Arena was originally pencilled in for a 2024 opening, but that has since slipped and for the past year or so there had been no confirmed date for opening.
The company has blamed "delays resulting from the impact of Covid" and the general challenges in the construction market. Last summer, the mayor of Bristol’s bid to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to Bristol included temporarily switching construction of the YTL Arena to a bespoke Eurovision venue, but Bristol never got into the shortlisting phase.
