3,500 is perfect, more than adequate for most bands and comedy acts. Saying we need more seats to attract bigger artists may be true but have you considered this venue isn't designed for that purpose? We have no venue to compete with the O2 academy or Manchester Apollo, these are the venues that are booked out every night with a diverse range of acts. More people use these venues and the cost of visiting is significantly cheaper than the big arenas. By building a venue this size the city are providing affordable entertainment to a range of people most nights a week, that's what we need, not the occasional huge pop act that charges £65 a ticket and a venue that's empty the rest of the time.
The two may differ, but the fact remains that when it was available and we booked a big act like The Who, ticket sales were **** and anyone investing in a venue locally will be conscious of that fact.
Leeds is 13,500. Good idea but once again, like the KC Stadium, undercooked by the council. Isn't this exactly the type of facility Assem Allam wanted to be build around the KC ? There is a reason why Hull is twenty odd years behind Leeds, Sheffield, and other cities and the common denominator is the council. Latest wheeze to save money is to cut the community buses which take the disabled, elderly, dementia, frail, blind etc from door to door. This was 'announced' on the same day the £25m development of the city center was announced. That headline should have read 'Hull to catch up with other cities, 20 years too late...' Bunch of weasels. We deserve better.
Part of the reason ticket sales were poor at the KC was the lack of promotion of other things to do in the area. Ticket sales could increase if there was an reason to stay over and see something of the area. It takes some building to get over the negative image the media likes to portray, but it's not impossible.
You are also comparing a 25K stadium with a 13.5K arena also maybe just maybe the fact it didn't seel out was because there wasn't enough interest in the who? REM pulled 18K that would have filled a 13,500 capacity arena with more needed. Like I said comparing apples and oranges.
Personally I hate large venues and what is the definition of 'proper acts'? 3.5K is twice the size of Hull City Hall and bigger than the Leeds O2 Academy and Nottingham Rock City and equal to Manc Apollo and Bris Spa. It should attract most acts and retain enough intimacy often lost by large souless arenas. Too many people knocking everything proposed for Hull, if we get the spec right this could actually be great, location is better then ice arena as well. Sometimes we have to admit we are never going to get everything Leeds and Manchester get.
I'll say it again we don't need another 1 of those as we have close enough the exact same thing in the ice arena which holds 3,750. It's just wasting £42M on what is in effect a white elephant.
I really don't mind. I think 3,500 is fantastic compared to what we have now and I do believe acts will be interested in performing there because the closest to this area acts can go is Sheffield or Leeds. I'm excited for all the changes happening in this city.
Sheffield as well then and Newcastle, Bristol etc? We will never get viewed in the same light as the 2 you mentioned whist we keep up with our 'little Yorkshire village' mentality.
Ice Arena is getting shut down. Plus nobody wants to perform at an ice rink, a proper arena is more suitable for acts.
To be fair, every act I see that's going on your performs at Nottingham rock city, so if we can do what Nottingham have. It will be great
Sorry but if you think BIG acts are going to be interested in a 3.5K arena you are deluding yourself. Also Ice arena can host 3,750 so we already can host more.
The key is proper management of the new venue over size, consider how well Fruit is managed, Hull City Hall and Ice Arena have both been managed badly and grossly under used. A new 3.5K venue in the city centre promoted properly could be a great new asset.
Burnsy today had a local guy (name escapes me) on who dealt with touring bands and he said he WOULDN'T look to book his bands in Hull at a 3.5K arena as much as he would love to because of the size if it but if it was 10K+ he certainly would. He also said Leeds arena would be over the moon if we built a 3.5K arena as it would be no competition to them.
This is quite exciting but whether we like it or not Hull is out on a wing and we have as much trouble as it is in getting big artists (and upcoming band) to play here and on a consistent basis. Most bands would rather stick to the 'main' touring circuit of the UK. If we can get decent acts to play then it will be a decent project however part of me feels that we have adequate venues that exist for the artists we are attracting at the minute.
