Plans for Mayflower Park include new waterfront arena for Southampton (From Daily Echo)

Plans for Mayflower Park include new waterfront arena for Southampton

9:20am Sunday 10th May 2009 in

By Peter Law » Feature Writer

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A STATE-OF-THE-ART 10,000-seat arena – similar in scale to the Echo Arena Liverpool – is the centrepiece of a grand new vision to redevelop Southampton’s Royal Pier and Mayflower Park. International A-list music acts, indoor sport events and temporary exhibitions could all be hosted at the stunning waterfront venue.

A convention centre, casino and observation tower with views over the docks could also be incorporated in the new masterplan, which won’t be unveiled to the public until the Southampton Boat Show in September.

Under early plans presented to Southampton City Council, the arena will be at the heart of a development that could also feature restaurants, shops and some housing.

City council bosses are due to meet with arena operators this week to discuss the financial viability of building the south coast’s premier arena on the prestigious site.

Councillor Royston Smith, Cabinet member for economic development, said the new scheme was a “massive improvement” on any of the previous plans for the site, which were dominated by thousands of flats.

He said arenas – once considered expensive white elephants – were coming back into vogue and there was an opportunity for Southampton to capitalise.

“I want to make sure Southampton is a destination. There is no point redeveloping the waterfront if it does not give people a reason to visit it,” he said.

“We are not going to be a Wembley Arena or The O2, but we could realistically attract an audience of eight, nine or ten thousand given the right events.”

The plans are being drawn up by Scottish-based developers Kilmartin, who were last July awarded an 18-month exclusivity contract to create a masterplan for the waterfront around Royal Pier and Mayflower Park.

Coming to Southampton's waterfront..?

Beyonce

Kilmartin chairman Colin Banyard said The O2 in London and the 11,000-capacity Echo Arena Liverpool – where Beyonce is playing next month – demonstrated that versatile multi-purpose venues could be highly successful.

“The arrival of The O2 set a new precedent with regards to how arenas can be functioned and operated in a profitable way. Secondly, if you look on the south coast there is no real event location,” he said.

Mr Banyard added that the arena would be a major landmark and would not simply be a functional “tin shed”.

“We are not currently working with architects on design, as we are firstly looking at uses and viability so that we can give the architects a firm brief as to what we are looking for,” he said.

However, the Daily Echo understands early concept designs shown to the council have been described as “stunning” and have the potential to be an iconic building to rival the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Land reclamation to extend Mayflower Park has been ruled out as too expensive given the £20m price tag, but both Kilmartin and the council are keen for the development to extend out into the water.

Coming to Southampton's waterfront..?

Echo Arena Liverpool, which the Southampton arena could rival in capacity.

They are considering using pontoon-like structures that could either be used as walkways for the public or even hold floating structures. While the masterplan is due to unveiled this year, it’s unlikely construction would start before 2012 given the current economic climate and the sheer scale of the multi-million-pound scheme.

Restaurateur Kuti Miah’s Thai eatery in the Royal Pavilion will remain unaffected and it is hoped the proposed 180ft tribute to the spitfire will also be incorporated at Town Quay.

Previous plans for at least 1,000 flats were rejected by docks owner ABP in 2007, but any housing in the new scheme is likely to be set away from ferry and port operations.

Comments(44)

Dazzz says...
9:30am Sun 10 May 09

zzzzzzzzzzzz here we go again...... more if, whats, maybe's and dreams