P&J Live (also known as The Event Complex Aberdeen) is a multi-purpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

in the suburb of

Bucksburn Bucksburn is an suburb of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, named after the Bucks Burn, stream that flows through it. The stream is called Bucks Burn. Bucksburn was formerly a market village before being swallowed up by the spread of the city. Th ...

, in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Opened in August 2019, it offers a capacity for all types of shows and events from 5,000 to 15,000. Replacing the former

Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre The Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (also known as the General Electric Exhibition Centre and often shortened to the AECC) was a large exhibition and conference complex, in the suburb of Bridge of Don, in Aberdeen, Scotland. The compl ...

(AECC), the 10,000-seat arena is used for concerts and other events. It is the largest indoor arena in Scotland, and the fifth largest arena in the United Kingdom.

History

In September 2012, talks got underway to replace the 27-year-old AECC Arena with a new £20 million facility on the same site amid claims that the arena was missing out on big acts due its comparatively small 4,750-seat capacity. On 18 October 2013, the city council announced plans to spend £200 million on a rebuild of the AECC, but also raised the possibility of relocating the venue to a new site. Then on 31 October, it was announced that the go ahead had been given to the relocation, with

Henry Boot Henry Boot (1851–1931) was the founder of Henry Boot PLC. Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles outside Sheffield. Henry's father had described him ...

as the preferred development partner. Artists impressions were released for a new centre and arena to be built at

The Rowett Institute The Rowett Institute is a research centre for studies into food and nutrition, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The institute was founded in 1913 when the University of Aberdeen and the North of Scotland College of Agriculture agreed ...

, which was owned by the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

and located in the city's

area near

Aberdeen Airport Aberdeen International Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Obar Dheathain) is an international airport, located in the Dyce suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. A total of just under 3.1&nbs ...

and close to the

Aberdeen International Business Park Aberdeen International Business Park (AIBP) is a major commercial building project located on the south eastern edge of Aberdeen International Airport, at Dyce, with direct road links to the Scottish motorway network, and close to Dyce railway s ...

. The council says the project would be completed by 2019, accommodating 10,000 people seated and 12,500 standing. Other facilities include office and leisure space, plus an adjoining 4-star Hilton Aberdeen TECA hotel with options for two more. An artist's impression the new AECC was released on 1 November 2013, together with an estimate of the final bill at around £185 million. In September 2014, public consultations took place prior to the final planning application being submitted in May 2015 for the Bucksburn site and redevelopment of the current AECC site at

Bridge of Don Bridge of Don is a suburb in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland. In , the Bridge of Don electoral ward was estimated to have a population of 19,545. Bridge of Don is split into four areas for statistical purposes by Aberdeen City Council and Pol ...

. Construction began in July 2016, after a ground-breaking ceremony on 5 July. The planned spending total of the new project is £333 million. In July 2018, it was announced that the new venue would be named The Event Complex Aberdeen (TECA). The official name was changed to P&J Live in May 2019, following a sponsorship deal with the venue’s operator SMG Europe and

DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing '' The Dundee Courier'', '' The Evening Telegraph'' and ''The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics '' Oor ...

(owners of ''

The Press and Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspape ...

'' and '' Evening Express''). Constructed by the Robertson Group, the main arena includes an exclusive 50 person capacity show deck, 16 private hospitality suites and a VIP lounge. The new building also contains seven conference spaces, three 2,000 sqm exhibition halls (each with a seated capacity of 1,700), eleven meeting rooms, 150-seat restaurant and a coffee shop. The development also comprises two on site hotels. The open day was held on 10 August 2019.

Events

The first event at the new arena was

Offshore Europe Founded in 1973 as Offshore Scotland, SPE 'Offshore Europe'' is a biennial conference and exhibition that takes place in Aberdeen, Scotland. The event focuses on upstream oil and gas production and has grown into one of the largest events of its ki ...

from 3–6 September 2019. On 17 September 2019, it was announced that P&J Live would host the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

edition of

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been ...

on 15 December. On 23 November 2019, Scottish singer

Gerry Cinnamon Gerard Crosbie (born 1 October 1984), professionally known as Gerry Cinnamon, is a Scottish singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist. He sings in his local accent COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the venue was used as a vaccination centre.

Entertainment

References

External links

*
Redevelopment website
{{Indoor arenas UK Buildings and structures in Aberdeen Indoor arenas in Scotland Exhibition and conference centres in Scotland Event venues established in 2019 2019 establishments in Scotland

History

Events

Entertainment

See also

References

External links