We visit the YTL Bristol Arena site to see if it's really making progress

YTL promise to “make history” in delivering the long-promised new arena, but many people in Bristol remain sceptical

16:02, 24 Jul 2025Updated 16:03, 24 Jul 2025

There are neon lights on the wall of the reception of the office of the YTL Arena. In capital letters, the message boldly states – ‘Let’s make history together’. On another wall, the front pages of five different editions of the Bristol Post are proudly framed and on display, charting more than seven years’ worth of headlines.

The first hailed the ‘Massive Success’ of Massive Attack’s two nights of gigs inside the vast Brabazon Hangar, which saw 28,000 people in total watch Bristol’s famous musical export.

That front page was from March 2019 – more than six years and what feels like a lifetime ago now – and told how a fleet of what felt like every available bus in the West of England took people from The Centre up to Filton Airfield for the two gigs. This was the future, we were told.

The Massive Attack gig utilised less than half this vast hangar, and those who went remember a dark space, with huge curtains creating an auditorium. That’s all gone now, as have most of the buildings around the old aircraft factory, but those gig-goers of 2019 were promised there would be an arena by now, as we head into the second half of the decade.

Six and a half years on, and as YTL Arena chief executive Andrew Billingham stood in the middle of the huge Brabazon Hangar, there is still no arena. Mention the arena to most Bristolians and they are reluctant to believe it will ever actually happen, even as new ambitions are unveiled to increase its capacity from a currently agreed 17,500 up to 20,000.

There is still a residual frustration from former Mayor Marvin Rees’ decision to halt the start of work on a former Mayor George Ferguson’s plan for a 10,000 capacity arena next to Temple Meads station in preference to YTL’s promise. The further the world turns from that decision and there’s no arena at Filton, the more important that moment seems.

It’s something Mr Billingham said he was acutely aware of. The YTL Arena can look as amazing as it wants to in artists’ impressions, but until the first sell-out global star takes to the stage inside the Brabazon hangar, many in Bristol will be cynical.

It’s difficult to capture the scale of the Brabazon Hangar in a photograph. A hundred yards deep and 300 yards across, it has a roof so high Ben Stokes could go on a slog-fest inside and never trouble its steel beams with the loftiest of sixes.

Inside the YTL Arena as demolition reaches a ‘key milestone'(Image: YTL)

Mr Billingham is almost evangelical about it, and its history. “It’s amazing to think this, this floor here, is where Concorde was made,” he said. He searched the concrete for a tiny scored line, about two-thirds of the way to the vast south doors, he found it with a little internal cheer of delight.

“So this is where the front of the first row of seats will be,” he said. “Everything going back that way,” he added, waving into the vast space, “will be seating going up and up, two tiers of it. But everything this way,” he pointed south towards the open doors, “will be the standing area and then the stage.

“We’ve looked at all the old photos and this part is where the Concordes were put together. So we’re absolutely preserving this floor. This concrete where people will stand will be the same concrete floor that Concorde was built on. That’s just so important to us,” he said.

Over in both corners, work was happening. The operators of giant machinery, the huge machines dwarfed by their surroundings, were carefully but swiftly pulling down walls and internal buildings, piling it up in huge skips.

Inside the YTL Arena as demolition reaches a ‘key milestone'(Image: YTL)

“We’re stripping everything right back to the frame of the building,” said Mr Billingham. “There’s so much here we don’t need. Once we have completed this work, we’re going to take the roof off. There’s no way we can build an arena inside the shell of this building with the roof still on.

“So we’re going to do that, hopefully later this year, and then when the internal work to create the arena structure is done, put the roof back on,” he added.

“It would have been so much easier, and cheaper, to just pull this building down and build an arena from scratch. It’s not listed, it would have been possible. But it’s so much a huge part of Bristol’s heritage and history, in fact Britain’s engineering history, that it’s great that it’s being preserved and repurposed like this,” he added.

After getting planning permission, Mr Billingham said the work has concentrated on all the infrastructure around the site. So while people haven’t seen much if anything of a change to the huge building that’s a landmark from Filton to Cribbs Causeway, progress has been happening.

YTL Arena chief executive Andrew Billingham(Image: Bristol Post)

“It’s a huge project, not only just the arena itself, but also all the infrastructure required to operate and run the arena successfully. We own the complete airfield, which is a concrete airfield and we’re having to put all the infrastructure in place, all the roads, all the power, all the data, all the stuff that needs to go under the ground and all that has taken the time.

“But all that has been happening and is coming to a conclusion now which is fantastic, and this is now allowing us to move forward to the next phase, which is demolition in these incredible hangars in terms of getting ready to move to the construction of the arena.

“In terms of its design, it’s going to really embrace that heritage and Bristol feel. Every British Concorde was built here, and it was the home of supersonic and we’ll continue to tell the story of it being a supersonic music venue and arena.

“It will have an incredible amount of technology invested into the building, to give the best customer experience we can, and also the best artist experience. I guess the biggest thing is the acoustics. This primary will be a music venue. We want to attract the biggest artists that are out on tour, whether it’s your Billie Eilishes, your ELOs, your Lionel Ritchies, U2, Madonna – whoever is out on tour we want to make sure Bristol is that must-play venue, so everything that has gone into this design, is making sure that Bristol is absolutely on the table for those events,” he added.

Inside the reception area of the YTL Arena office in Filton(Image: Bristol Post)

Back in the YTL Arena office, Mr Billingham said he was looking forward to adding to the collection of Bristol Post front pages on the wall behind the reception desk – the one produced on the day the arena is finished being the most obvious one.

The Post has created many front pages about the arena before and since those five – but not necessarily ones that YTL would want to frame.

They have been about delays, regular extensions to the date the arena is planned to be finished – currently September or October 2028 – arguments over transport, parking, trains, buses, the huge amounts of public money being spent on transport infrastructure and fears over noise and parking among the arena’s neighbours.

But most of all, most of the front pages since 2022 – when Queen became ‘the first to play the new arena’ – have mentioned the word ‘delay’. “We know people are frustrated,” said Mr Billingham. “We are desperate to get it all done.

Inside the reception area of the YTL Arena office in Filton(Image: Bristol Post)

“We’re doing everything in our powers – we want this open as soon as we can.

“It’s going to be amazing when it’s finished. I’ve been on this project for close to eight years now, and it’s an absolutely incredible project. Of all the arenas I’ve seen across the country and across the world, this will be one of those that is going to be absolutely up there,” he added.

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We visit the YTL Bristol Arena site to see if it’s really making progress

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