No decision until NEXT year for the Gateshead arena
A decision on the future of a huge arena and conference centre planned for the Gateshead Quayside will not be made until next year.
The North East mayor’s office has confirmed that it is yet to conclude a study into whether the stalled riverside development can realistically go ahead and in what form.
Construction was meant to start on the “world class” leisure and events complex in autumn 2023, but the project has been hit with severe delays as its expected costs spiralled.
With building work yet to begin on a prime plot of riverside land between the Glasshouse music centre and Baltic art gallery, the North East Combined Authority (NECA) stepped in earlier this year to launch a review of the scheme and assess what market demand there was for the development.
It had been hoped that there would have been news on the future of the arena and conference centre project, known as The Sage, in summer this year.
But NECA officials told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week that they are still yet to finish their assessment.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said: “The North East Combined Authority is committed to supporting Gateshead Council as it determines the best way forward for the Gateshead Quays development.
“Our shared ambition is to create world-class cultural assets at Gateshead Quays, strengthening the region’s reputation as a leading destination for culture and tourism as part of our Growth Plan.
“Funding secured by Gateshead Council through the Combined Authority has enabled a comprehensive assessment of market demand for the proposed footprint and scale of the project. Working closely with specialist advisors and Gateshead Council, this assessment is expected to conclude early in the new year.”
Mayor Kim McGuinness said in August that she remained confident in the plans and that the Gateshead Quays was “pretty much the best place in the country” for a new arena to be built.
In January 2023, it was stated that the estimated cost of the arena and conference development had jumped from an original £260 million to more than £350 million, a figure that is understood to have subsequently risen further.
The impact of Covid-19, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and inflation hitting the construction industry have all been blamed for the price rises.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said this year that the funding gap for the project, which has been backed with cash from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, was “less than £100 million”.
One option thought to have been under consideration to cut the costs is downsizing the major building project into a smaller-scale development.
The council has also faced criticism for building a recently-opened multi-storey car park to serve The Sage, at a cost of £23 million, when its future has been in such doubt