Sheffield venues: Mystery of £50m city centre arena plan to house concerts, conferences and World Snooker

Mystery surrounds proposals for a £50m arena in Sheffield city centre.

Former Sheffield MP Richard Caborn put forward plans for a new 4,000 seat venue that could host concerts, exhibitions, conferences and even World Snooker in 2022.

The bus station on Pond Street and a site off Dixon Lane near Park Square roundabout were earmarked as possible locations. And it was suggested it could be erected in 18 months using off-site construction methods.

Mr Caborn said he brought the people behind the Abba Arena in Stratford, which was purpose-built for the ABBA Voyage virtual concerts, to Sheffield. And he submitted a report to the city council.

He was told it “went out to consultation” but had since lost touch with it, he added.

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He spoke to The Star amid discussions about whether World Snooker will stay at The Crucible after the contract runs out in 2027. Former chairman Barry Hearn has called for a new 3,000 seat arena in the city.

Mr Caborn said: “We need a destination to complement the activity in the city centre. We put forward sites with great transport connections that could become a visitor destination and have conferences, performing arts, concerts and World Snooker.

 “Cities have to start bringing in a new constituency of people. I submitted a report to the council which went out to consultation. I have lost touch with it since then.”

A Sheffield City Council spokesperson said they had “no further comment to make on a new city centre venue.”

Last week, chief executive Kate Josephs, said: “Our priority is to ensure that everyone has the best possible experience here in Sheffield, whether that be the players, the visitors or our local residents. 

“We are in regular contact with World Snooker Tour and meet with them before, during and after each tournament – we will continue to have conversations with them about a way forward that works for us all.”

In 2022, Mr Caborn said a new venue would meet a need for a conference space bigger than the Octagon at Sheffield University, the City Hall and Ponds Forge sports centre but would be easily accessible on foot, by train and by car, if drivers used a proposed new park-and-ride near the Veolia incinerator.

Mr Caborn said previously that chairing the unsuccessful bid for Channel 4 in 2018 had ‘opened his eyes’ to the wealth of creative and digital firms in the city.

He said: “It told me we have some of the best creative businesses in the country. Now we need something at the centre of all that. It would anchor an area stretching from the Cultural Industries Quarter to Castlegate. 

“It could be the next big development in a post-Brexit, post-Covid era. I’m convinced people still want to come together to enjoy things.”