YTL Developments (UK) Ltd has received approval this week from the Bristol City Council’s planning committee to develop YTL Arena at Bristol’s Filton Airfield in the United Kingdom (UK).
Also approved were plans by YTL to build a Wembley Way-style pedestrian bridge over the railway line on Filton Airfield, which will act as the main entrance to the arena.
YTL Arena managing director Andrew Billingham said: "There is a huge amount of work to be done now with detailed designs and plans expected to take at least six months. This will be followed by a two-year construction phase."
The target opening date is early 2023, he said in a Twitter posting.
Billingham added that YTL Arena will be both financially and environmentally sustainable.
"It will be flexible to attract a wide range of events to suit all interests, from music and sport to comedy and family entertainment," he said.
The arena is set to be the third-largest of its kind in the UK.
Detailed plans of the arena, which were revealed last November, included sustainability measures like zero waste to landfill, rainwater harvesting and solar panels on the roof.
It was reported that the infrastructure will cost about £5 million, with £3 million to be paid by the developer.
YTL Developments director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong told NST Property in an interview last November that the arena is expected to attract more than 1.4 million visitors a year and generate £1.5 billion locally over 25 years.
The arena will be located in the Brabazon hangars just south of Filton Airfield, with a capacity of 17,000, putting it behind London’s O2 and the Manchester Arena.
The hangars are housed within a 352m-long and 35m-tall building across 26 acres and they have been a part of Bristol's heritage since the 1940s. The building has an enclosed volume of some one million cubic metres divided up into three separate but interlinked aircraft hangars.
Built in 1946 for the construction of the Brabazon airliner, the building later became the birthplace of Concorde.
In 2003, the final Concorde to fly travelled from Heathrow to Filton.
Filton airfield closed to commercial flights in December 2012. It was at a standstill until YTL Power International took over the 380-acre site in 2015.
The site will become a new urban community, with over 2,600 homes, creative workplaces and a vibrant town centre set amongst public squares and parks.
The plan for the arena includes transforming the central hanger into a 17,000-seater multi-purpose, flexible and unique arena auditorium, allowing Bristol to host full capacity live music shows, sporting events, family entertainment, and comedy shows.
The east hangar will be transformed into 'Festival Hall,' a break-out area for the main arena show which could also be used for trade shows, exhibitions, conventions, and other events.
The west hangar, called “The Hub”, will be opened throughout the year offering a place to eat, work and play, with leisure facilities, and space for start-up businesses.
The site will boast a new train station that will connect to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes and a frequently scheduled dedicated bus service to the city centre.