Joe GallopAEG Europe has shared an update about its new 8.500-capacity Edinburgh arena which is set to be open to the public in 2027.
According to the Edinburgh News, AEG provided the update for its plans during a second public consultation in Edinburgh this week. It said if the plans are approved, it hopes to host upwards of 150 concerts a year at the new venue.
AEG said it plans to host a range of events at the new arena, from music and comedy shows to sporting events, taking advantage of the proposed arena’s flexible seating plan.
“We plan to bring 150 plus events a year to Edinburgh. It’s quite an open and flexible venue so it would be great also for Fringe shows. We can drape areas to make it smaller if needed,” said Alistair Wood, AEG Europe’s VP of real estate and development, as per Edinburgh News.
“We have been looking around Edinburgh for a long time and initially looked at a site further down in Edinburgh Park but this is perfect. We hope to put the plans in to the council in February and then we are hoping for a quick decision.”
Addressing concerns that the venue might be too small for the market, Wood said AEG is not looking to compete with other Scottish venues such as the OVO Hydro (cap. 14,300) in Glasgow or the 15,000-capacity P&J Live arena in Aberdeen.
Wood said, “We did a gap analysis of the UK to see where the big gaps were in terms of arenas, and Edinburgh was the best place. We are not planning to go head to head with the Hydro in Glasgow but perhaps see artists who play there also play here.”