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New Cardiff Bay Arena
New Cardiff Bay Arena, also referred to as Atlantic Wharf Arena, is an indoor arena under construction in Atlantic Wharf, a southern area of the city of Cardiff, Wales.
The multi-purpose 16,500-capacity arena is being built on a site near to Cardiff Bay's Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) and is expected to open in 2028. It forms part of a wider masterplan to regenerate the city's wharf area with a large mixed-use development.
After a number of delays, construction began following the groundbreaking ceremony in September 2025 and is expected to be undertaken in four phases over multiple years: the first being the construction of the new arena, WMC's digital and "immersive" arts theatre, a replacement hotel and multi-storey car park followed by the relocation of the Red Dragon Centre's tenants into a new complex. The third phase of the masterplan would include a new office space delivered along with an additional hotel and finally new homes and apartments, with potential for more commercial space; the latter neighbourhood phase is dependent on proposed plans being approved to replace Cardiff Council's ageing County Hall with a new smaller purpose-built building.
Currently the city lacks a large multi-purpose indoor arena suitable for hosting a number of major sporting and music events, such as concerts, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the Gymnastics World Championships, with a capacity of 10–15,000 to bridge the significant gap between that of the CIA and the Millennium Stadium, where the majority of large-scale events are hosted.
In November 2018, it was reported that a 15,000-seat indoor arena would be built on the site of the Red Dragon Centre, a large entertainment and leisure complex in the south of the city. The Atlantic Wharf site was chosen by the council as the preferred option over six other potential sites, including Callaghan Square near Cardiff Central railway station, the 5,000-seat Cardiff International Arena (CIA), with an arena also suggested as part of a £150m redevelopment of Cardiff Arms Park. In 2013, County Hall was first suggested as a potential future site for an indoor arena and convention centre; a decade later its car park would be confirmed as the exact location.
The current Red Dragon Centre is expected to be demolished in the coming years and replaced by a new leisure complex. Tenants would migrate over to the new property while the remaining parts of the project are built. A planning application for the arena was expected to be submitted in July 2019. On 17 December 2019, it was announced that Cardiff Council's cabinet had been granted permission for the local authority to purchase the Red Dragon Centre from the British Airways Pension Fund (BAPF) for an undisclosed sum. An element of the purchase price will only be payable to the pension fund when a planning application is submitted for the new arena project on any part of the 30 acres (12 ha) Atlantic Wharf site (the combined County Hall on Schooner Way and Red Dragon Centre on Hemingway Road) within a 10-year period. The development area also covers parts of Lloyd George Avenue and Silurian Park.
The council aimed to appoint a development partner and operator for the new arena by April 2020 and for a detailed planning application to be submitted by the selected developer before September 2020. Construction work was first projected to begin in May 2021 so the arena could open in June 2023. The new arena was expected to be based on the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.
Live Nation UK, the operator and leaseholder of the city centre's CIA, has approached the council with a view to operating the new venue if it is built. On 27 November 2020, Live Nation and builders Robertson Group were announced as the winning bidders to operate and construct the venue. Entertainment investors Oak View Group are also part of the consortium. Live Nation subsequently agreed to make a £100m financial contribution towards the project to cover increased costs and would commit to a future long-term lease of the venue. Once the new arena is operational, the CIA is then expected to be closed by Live Nation and could be demolished, along with the adjoining surface car parks and buildings owned by Rapport, to provide space for a new commercial development integrated into Churchill Way's Canal Quarter. The arena is projected to deliver between 130 and 150 events per annum and an additional 1.5 million visitors to Cardiff Bay each year.
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New Cardiff Bay Arena
New Cardiff Bay Arena, also referred to as Atlantic Wharf Arena, is an indoor arena under construction in Atlantic Wharf, a southern area of the city of Cardiff, Wales.
The multi-purpose 16,500-capacity arena is being built on a site near to Cardiff Bay's Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) and is expected to open in 2028. It forms part of a wider masterplan to regenerate the city's wharf area with a large mixed-use development.
After a number of delays, construction began following the groundbreaking ceremony in September 2025 and is expected to be undertaken in four phases over multiple years: the first being the construction of the new arena, WMC's digital and "immersive" arts theatre, a replacement hotel and multi-storey car park followed by the relocation of the Red Dragon Centre's tenants into a new complex. The third phase of the masterplan would include a new office space delivered along with an additional hotel and finally new homes and apartments, with potential for more commercial space; the latter neighbourhood phase is dependent on proposed plans being approved to replace Cardiff Council's ageing County Hall with a new smaller purpose-built building.
Currently the city lacks a large multi-purpose indoor arena suitable for hosting a number of major sporting and music events, such as concerts, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the Gymnastics World Championships, with a capacity of 10–15,000 to bridge the significant gap between that of the CIA and the Millennium Stadium, where the majority of large-scale events are hosted.
In November 2018, it was reported that a 15,000-seat indoor arena would be built on the site of the Red Dragon Centre, a large entertainment and leisure complex in the south of the city. The Atlantic Wharf site was chosen by the council as the preferred option over six other potential sites, including Callaghan Square near Cardiff Central railway station, the 5,000-seat Cardiff International Arena (CIA), with an arena also suggested as part of a £150m redevelopment of Cardiff Arms Park. In 2013, County Hall was first suggested as a potential future site for an indoor arena and convention centre; a decade later its car park would be confirmed as the exact location.
The current Red Dragon Centre is expected to be demolished in the coming years and replaced by a new leisure complex. Tenants would migrate over to the new property while the remaining parts of the project are built. A planning application for the arena was expected to be submitted in July 2019. On 17 December 2019, it was announced that Cardiff Council's cabinet had been granted permission for the local authority to purchase the Red Dragon Centre from the British Airways Pension Fund (BAPF) for an undisclosed sum. An element of the purchase price will only be payable to the pension fund when a planning application is submitted for the new arena project on any part of the 30 acres (12 ha) Atlantic Wharf site (the combined County Hall on Schooner Way and Red Dragon Centre on Hemingway Road) within a 10-year period. The development area also covers parts of Lloyd George Avenue and Silurian Park.
The council aimed to appoint a development partner and operator for the new arena by April 2020 and for a detailed planning application to be submitted by the selected developer before September 2020. Construction work was first projected to begin in May 2021 so the arena could open in June 2023. The new arena was expected to be based on the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.
Live Nation UK, the operator and leaseholder of the city centre's CIA, has approached the council with a view to operating the new venue if it is built. On 27 November 2020, Live Nation and builders Robertson Group were announced as the winning bidders to operate and construct the venue. Entertainment investors Oak View Group are also part of the consortium. Live Nation subsequently agreed to make a £100m financial contribution towards the project to cover increased costs and would commit to a future long-term lease of the venue. Once the new arena is operational, the CIA is then expected to be closed by Live Nation and could be demolished, along with the adjoining surface car parks and buildings owned by Rapport, to provide space for a new commercial development integrated into Churchill Way's Canal Quarter. The arena is projected to deliver between 130 and 150 events per annum and an additional 1.5 million visitors to Cardiff Bay each year.