Swansea Arena (), called Swansea Building Society Arena for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

that can hold up to 3,500 people located in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Wales. Part of a £135 million regeneration project, construction began in 2019 and the venue opened in March 2022. The arena has a gold-coloured facade and features a wraparound

display Display may refer to: Technology * Display device, output device for presenting information, including: ** Electronic visual display, output device to present information for visual or tactile reception *** Cathode-ray tube (CRT), that uses an el ...

made of 93,000

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

s, making it the largest digital facade in the United Kingdom. Phase one of the wider project also included a new gold-painted footbridge over Oystermouth Road which links the arena site to a new apartment complex and the city centre, an adjacent coastal-themed public park with a pavilion-style cafe restaurant and multi-storey car park underneath it, retail units on Cupid Way and a proposed hotel with a rooftop bar sited between the arena and the Swansea LC.

History

Construction of the new Swansea Arena - geograph

In 2015, Swansea Council announced a £135 million project to transform the

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay () is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The sh ...

area. The project, named , included the construction of an arena designed by architecture firm

ACME Acme is Ancient Greek (ἀκμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts, entertainment and games * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fic ...

. Construction began in 2019 with

Buckingham Group Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd was a construction company, originally founded in 1955. It was located near Stowe, between Buckingham and Silverstone in north Buckinghamshire and operated throughout England and Wales. It went into administratio ...

as the principal contractor. After an eighteen month search for an operator,

Ambassador Theatre Group ATG Entertainment, formerly The Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), is a major international live entertainment organisation headquartered in the United Kingdom, with offices in Woking (head office), London, New York, Sydney, Mannheim and Cologne. ...

signed a lease with the city's council to rent the venue for thirty years. The construction took longer than expected due to security concerns following the

Manchester Arena bombing The Manchester Arena bombing, or Manchester Arena attack, was an Islamic terrorism in Europe, Islamic terrorist suicide bombing of Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on 22 May 2017, following Dangerous Woman Tour, a concert by the Americ ...

in 2017. The arena opened to the public on 3 March 2022 after the inaugural event, a

Royal Blood A royal descent is a genealogical line of descent from a past or present monarch. Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic perspective, the number of unp ...

concert, was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The official opening was attended by the

First Minister of Wales The first minister of Wales () is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government po ...

Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford (born 19 September 1954) is a Welsh politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance since September 2024, having previously held the position from 2016 to 2018. He previously served as First Minister of Wales and L ...

. In its first year the venue hosted 240,000 people. On 28 January 2025, Swansea Building Society announced a five-year

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

deal with the arena, renaming the venue to Swansea Building Society Arena.

Design and architecture

The arena's exterior is constructed of gold-coloured

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

panels. The facade has a built-in wraparound display made of 93,000

lights, which designers say is the largest in the United Kingdom. The arena's hospitality area was designed to "maximise revenue" and can be quickly transformed for hosting different events. The arena's main auditorium holds 3,500 through a combination of seating and standing configurations and the conference theater has 750 seats. There are also meeting rooms to hire.

References

External links

* {{ATGVenues Swansea Bay City Region Music venues in Swansea Indoor arenas in Wales Tourist attractions in Swansea Event venues established in 2022 2022 establishments in Wales

History

Design and architecture

See also

References

External links