Swansea Arena has hosted fewer performances than expected in its first year but ticket sales and demand for conferences have been strong, its operator has said. Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has put on 56 performances and sold 105,000 tickets since opening last March. A further 85 conferences, seminars and other corporate events have been held, taking the total figure to 141 events.
ATG runs the venue on behalf of Swansea Council, which provided the figures in a written response to a question by councillors from the Uplands Party. The response said 21 of the 56 performances were sold out, including a concert by rock star Alice Cooper, the Jersey Boys show and several high-profile comedians. Average ticket sales, it said, were 80%.
When ATG applied for a licence for the arena in 2021, it envisaged 100 performances in the first year, 115 in the second and 125 in the third. The council has previously given differing numbers for the total number of performances and events at the venue, ranging from 160 to 221 per year. In 2019 it said it expected some 230,000 arena visitors annually.
