Plans for a new South Bristol sports and convention center were revealed as part of a £100M ($131.3M) development including a four-star hotel, housing and business space, according to Esme Ashcroft of the BRISTOL POST. Situated next to Ashton Gate, the 4,000-capacity venue "will be primarily used" by British Basketball League side Bristol Flyers -- which currently plays at SGS College in Filton. Proposed by Ashton Gate Ltd. -- the sister company to Bristol Sport -- it is "hoped the venue will also be used for other sports" including badminton and boxing when it opens and be part of a new "sporting quarter" for Bristol. The news will "doubtlessly irk" those hoping to see an arena built in the city center, however its smaller size means "it is unlikely to threaten or replace concert venue plans in the long run" (BRISTOL POST, 9/18). The BBC reported earlier this month, Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees "scrapped an unrelated plan to build an entertainment arena" in the city center in favor of a mixed-use development. Proposals for an arena next to Temple Meads railway station were first "mooted" in '03 but were "beset by delays." Rees' decision "paves the way" for a privately-funded arena to be built at the Brabazon hangar on Filton Airfield on the outskirts of the city. The newly-announced venue next to Ashton Gate would create the biggest indoor arena in the city (BBC, 9/18).
