Joe GallopContracts have been signed between venue management giant ASM Global, Derby City Council and Leeds-based developers St James Securities for Derby’s new £45.8m, 3,500-capacity arena.
ASM Global has entered into an unconditional agreement for lease with the council and St James Securities, which will give the green light for construction work to commence. Planning permission, land acquisitions and other pre-commencement conditions have now been agreed.
ASM Global will work with St James Securities and the council on the design development of the venue, located in Derby city centre. The venue will be owned by the council and leased to and operated by ASM Global.
The venue, which will replace the Assembly Rooms, hit by fire in 2014, forms phase two of Derby’s £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme. The arena will play a major role in Derby’s bid for City of Culture 2025.
It will be a space capable of staging concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, exhibitions, and business events.
Pictured (L-R): Derby City Council Cllr Chris Poulter, Tom Lynch and Paul Morris.
The venue is set to host over 200 cultural and commercial events each year and attract an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby. It is also expected to create over 200 new local jobs and generate more than £10m GVA per year for the area.
Demolition work has recently commenced, with construction work on the performance venue set to commence in January 2023, with completion and handover to ASM Global in late 2024.
ASM Global senior vice president and group commercial director Europe, Tom Lynch said, “ASM Global looks forward to building on the great success of our UK venue portfolio and leveraging our strength in venue programming and commercialisation, to further develop the cultural landscape in the Midlands and support the ongoing growth of the region’s economy.”
ASM Global executive vice president Europe, Chris Bray said, “This deal marks the start of an ambitious and transformational development, and ASM Global is incredibly pleased to be a part of the journey. We’re excited to join forces with Derby City Council and St James Securities for this significant regeneration, and new cultural hub in the centre of Derby.”
St James Securities director Paul Morris said, “Closing the performance venue deal and starting on site this month continues the success story at Becketwell with over £85m of development now underway. We will continue to build on these successes as we look to bring forward further mixed-use phases in the coming months.”