SUMMER | FEATURE members club will be set over 1,150 square meters and accommodate 300 people .
The newest arena in the UK , Aberdeen ’ s P & J Live ( 15,000 ), opening in 2019 and is also the UK ’ s most northern . With 48,000 square metres of multi-purpose event space , the venue offers remarkable flexibility . Among the acts to play there this year are Michael Bublé , Elton John and Pet Shop Boys .
Interim MD Louise Stewart says , “ The floor space is fantastic , we can do 15,000 standing , it ’ s probably the biggest all-standard floor in the UK . All the seats are retractable , which works well for us in terms of building up and breaking down and going from one show to the next .”
Head of operations Peter Stott says the fact the building is so new means it boasts the latest rigging technology : “ We were building a
P & J Live
state-of-the-art venue and wanted the best rigging system so we worked with UK Rigging . Our grid is now fully walkable and really efficient ; the speed at which it can be carried out is second to none .”
The National Arenas Association ( NAA ) represents 23 UK arenas with a capacity of more than 5,000 , and while the proposed new venues are some distance from Aberdeen , Stewart says the UK is already well furnished with arena venues : “ Compared to other markets , the UK has a lot of arenas but the music market is very , very , strong here and there ’ s a lot of content coming through to accommodate .”
Environmental performance Among the key advantages of new venues is the ability to build in sustainability measures . In the case of P & J Live that means having an anaerobic digester that breaks down waste to produce gas that is piped into its on-site hydrogen plant . It not only provides renewable energy for the arena but supplements the local grid .
OVG is working with Glastonbury and Coldplay sustainability consultants Hope Solutions to develop its net-zero strategy at Co-op Live . It has already pledged that , once completed , the venue will be the first UK arena to be solely powered by electricity , and that it is committed to 100 % rainwater harvesting , and the use of solar panel covered roofing .
John Drury , chair of the NAA and VP & general manager of the ASM Global-run OVO Arena Wembley ( 12,500 ), says it is great to see new arenas being built with a focus on sustainability but it is important to remember that a new building can only be so sustainable because of the embedded carbon that it brings with it .
He says , “ Sustainability is an area that we are concentrating heavily on at the NAA via our Green Group , which enables operators to share ideas and thoughts about new innovations . NAA is great at enabling people to get together and share best practice .”
The NAA is currently working on a “ green guide ” that Drury says will lay down rules and requirements to help incoming productions to operate in a more sustainable way .
Room for manoeuvre In April , OVG hired former Ticketmaster SVP client development and commercial Gary Roden as executive director and general manager of Co-op Live . Unsurprisingly , he is convinced the UK can comfortably accommodate additional large-scale venues .
“ Public demand for live entertainment is showing no sign of slowing down , and there is significant opportunity to service interest with world-class facilities that both fans and artists deserve ,” he says . “ Beyond an in-depth feasibility study that has highlighted the value of multiple large-scale venues in Manchester ,
Louise Stewart Peter Stott
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