Caption: Cllr Andrew Carter, Leader of Leeds City Council and John Sutherland MD of SMG Europe watch the demolition of the Brunswick building.
The next stage in the development of the Leeds Arena began this week when bulldozers moved in to begin work on demolishing a former university building.
The 5-storey high Brunswick Building, formerly owned by Leeds Metropolitan University, will be pulled down to make way for construction of the arena on a 5.1acre site at Clay Pit Lane in Leeds city centre.
The demolition of the Brunswick Building is the next stage in the programme to build the Leeds Arena, which is planned to open in 2012. Work to demolish the building and clear the Claypit Lane site is expected to take around 18 weeks. Once the site has been cleared and levelled part will be used as a temporary public car park.
Councillor Andrew Carter, Leader of Leeds City Council and executive member for city development, said:
“This is a key stage in the Arena development. A lot of people have worked hard to get us to this position, where we are actually able to start work on the ground and I am delighted to be here to mark this important event.
“We are now progressing quickly on this project and the council remains committed to turning it from an ambition into a reality. Design work has started and the intention is to submit an outline planning application for the development in the autumn. The arena will act as a gateway into Leeds, it will benefit from excellent transport links and will complement the activities of the universities, creating a real buzz in this part of the city. "
John Sutherland, Managing Director of venue operators SMG Europe said:
“This will be the first tangible step in turning the vision of an arena for Leeds into reality. Once work begins, the public and the wider entertainment industry will appreciate that Leeds really is going to have a venue which puts it on the map for world class entertainment.”
The arena will be a 12,500 seat venue able to accommodate a range of events and establish Leeds as a top class city for entertainment and sport. It is expected to create over 300 new jobs and bring in over £25m to the Leeds economy as visitors take part in other activities and spend money while they are in the city.
Leeds City Council acquired the Brunswick Building in November 2008. The council paid £6m for the 2.91 acre plot which makes up the whole 5.1 acre site for the arena development at Clay Pit Lane.
The council will appoint in the next couple of days an architectural design team who will begin work on designing the arena. An announcement on the appointment will be shortly.
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For media enquiries, please contact;
Sara Hyman, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 224 3602
Email: sara.hyman@leeds.gov.uk
