It’s been a long held ambition of Cardiff Council to deliver a new indoor arena for the city. Seen as the missing link in the capital’s entertainment infrastructure, back in 2020 and following a competitive tendering process, it named one of the world’s leading sector operators, Live Nation, as its preferred partner to deliver a new 16,500 spectator capacity arena in Cardiff Bay - or more precisely Atlantic Wharf.
But the world is a somewhat different place now from then, with soaring construction inflation meaning that the price tag for the project has been revised significantly upwards.
The original plan was for the council, utilising its prudential borrowing powers, to raise around £170m of long-term repayable finance through the UK Government’s Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) - with Live Nation entering into a 40-year plus rental agreement with the proceeds covering the council’s borrowing costs.
