BAM Construction appointed to build £36.2 million [approximately €50 million] Hull Venue

The company, whose previous projects include the First Direct Arena in Leeds and One Angel Square in Manchester, will begin work immediately on Stage 1 of the project involving preliminary, pre-construction services.

A revised planning application for the 3,500 Hull Venue will be submitted to Hull City Council's Planning Committee on Monday, December 21, which will address concerns raised by the committee earlier this week, when its members refused an initial application. The revised plans will be subject to a further 21-day consultation period and will be considered again by the committee early in February.

Plans for the new venue aim to put Hull on the map as a location for major events, conferences and music concerts and are integral to Hull's legacy planning following from its year as UK City of Culture 2017.

Detailed feasibility studies and market testing show that the facility will inject £13.5 million into Hull's economy annually, delivering 30 full-time jobs with 100-150 temporary jobs on event days. The centre will include a 3,500 capacity concert auditorium, with the flexibility to reduce to a 2,500 all-seated event and a 2,000 m2 exhibition space, plus an 800 capacity conference auditorium.

Construction Director for BAM Construction Jason Pink said: ‘BAM’s track record in the city of Hull has been outstanding and our appointment to build this prestigious arena is a testimony to years of successful work in many sectors here. Once again, BAM is appointed to deliver a special and complex building where the quality of our partnership with the client, our understanding of the whole lifecycle of a building, and our non-confrontational style and technical excellence will be exactly the right way to make a one-off building like this into a reality. As we showed with Leeds Arena, BAM can leverage its world-leading expertise in stadiums, and its market-leading use of building information modelling. But in the end, it all comes down to our people and our attitude and we are delighted to work with Hull on something so striking and central to the City.’

Hull City Council has committed £36.2 million towards the cost of building the complex on the site behind Princes Quay shopping centre, where new retail facilities and a hotel are proposed. The investment will also modernise the adjacent Osborne Street car park.

Councillor Stephen Brady, Leader of the Council, said: ‘I am absolutely committed to this landmark project, which is critical to the development of the city and our plans to make Hull a world-class visitor destination. We will formally hand over the City of Culture title to another city in 2020, but this development will allow us to continue to attract events capable of delivering a big economic impact beyond that.’

Situated close to the key road and rail routes in and out of Hull, the new Hull Venue will revitalise and reconnect the heart of the city centre by providing a link between the historic Old Town, the 1950s-built 'new town' and the city's transport interchange and St. Stephen's shopping centre. The aim is to provide an iconic landmark for visitors travelling to and through the city, as well as offering conference delegates and gig-goers spectacular views of Hull Marina.

If approved by Planning Committee in February, work on the development will begin later in 2016, with completion scheduled for early 2018.

Further information:

• press: Arno C. Pronk, +31 (0)30 659 86 21;
• analysts: Joost van Galen, +31 (0)30 659 87 07.