Joe GallopAmbassador Theatre Group (ATG) has made four appointments to its venue management team at the new 3,500-capacity Swansea Arena, due to open later this year.
The newly assembled team is expected to host 160 performances across music, comedy, esports, sport and conference events for an estimated 230,000 visitors each year.
The development of the arena and conference centre next to Swansea Marina is part of a £135m transformational Copr Bay Phase One project, which is being delivered by the council working alongside development manager RivingtonHark.
The city centre development is one of the largest urban transformations currently being delivered in Europe. The arena also forms part of the Swansea City and Waterfront Digital District project, which is being part-funded by the £1.3bn Swansea Bay City Deal.
The senior roles of head of marketing & sales, operations manager, technical & building manager and conference & events manager at the arena have been filled, with experienced general manager Lisa Mart leading the team. She joined in March, having previously been theatre director at ATG’s The Alexandra, Birmingham (cap. 1,347).
Mart said, “I couldn’t be happier with the four people we have brought together; we have a great mix of skills and knowledge across music, hospitality and events and feel confident we now have everything we need to move the venue forward.
“I know the people of Swansea and beyond are impatient for us to crack on and start working on our offer to them and this is where the fun bit starts… we have a lot of work to do!”
Swansea Council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, said, “ATG have assembled a world-class team that will ensure the Swansea Arena, once operational, is one of the best of its kind.
“These high-value jobs add to the 2,000 local construction jobs created during the build of Copr Bay phase one so far, and are among 600 full-time jobs the district will accommodate when it’s up and running.
“This will accelerate Swansea’s economic recovery from the pandemic, while helping attract even more jobs and investment to the city in future.”
New operations manager Lara Caple-Harding has more than 10 years’ experience working with ATG in various customer facing roles, including front of house manager for the New Wimbledon Theatre (1,670), and was most recently visitor and events operations manager for Central Saint Martins, part of University of the Arts London.
Joining Swansea Arena as technical and building manager is Keith Powles, who has 20 years’ experience in live music and entertainment and previously worked at Thekla, Bristol (400), and Rock City, Nottingham (2,000).
Conference & events Manager Sophie Humphreys has more than 10 years’ experience in the industry including Hilton Hotels & Resorts, while new head of marketing & sales Vicki Francis last role was at S.A.Brain & Co Ltd.