Design practice Populous has won the competition to design Bristol’s new £91m arena.
Populous beat Grimshaw, Bilbao Arena designer IDOM, Sweden’s White Arkitekter and Wilkinson Eyre to the contract.
The design for the 12,000-capacity venue was chosen by a jury including Bristol mayor George Ferguson.
The planning application is to be submitted at the end of the year and the scheme is expected to be completed in 2017.
Responding to the announcement Jeremy Richards, head of JLL’s Bristol office, said: “Bristol Arena is set to act as a major catalyst for increased inward investment in the city, not least in the Bristol Temple Quarter enterprise zone, one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects, of which the arena is a key part.
“We’ve seen the significant benefits this ‘arena effect’ can bring in other regional cities such as Glasgow and Leeds, which saw a boost in investor interest as a result of the opening of their respective arenas in 2013.”
