Echo Arena Liverpool

Echo Arena Liverpool

Location Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool
16 Monarchs Quay
Liverpool
L3 4FP
England
Coordinates 53°23′48″N 2°59′27.45″W / 53.39667°N 2.9909583°W / 53.39667; -2.9909583
Owner Liverpool City Council
Capacity 11,000
Construction
Opened January 2008
Construction cost £164 million[1]
Architect Wilkinson Eyre
Project manager Davis Langdon, An AECOM Company
Structural engineer Buro Happold
Tenants
Mersey Tigers (BBL) (2008–2010)
British Gymnastics (2011–present)

Coordinates: 53°23′48″N 2°59′27.45″W / 53.39667°N 2.9909583°W / 53.39667; -2.9909583

The Echo Arena Liverpool is a purpose-built entertainment venue for live music, comedy performances and sporting events. It is the arena half of ACC Liverpool located on the former King's Dock in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. The BT Convention Centre forms the other half of the complex.[2]

Architecture and design

The Echo Arena under construction in November 2007
The Echo Arena soon after completion

In terms of capacity, Echo Arena Liverpool is the eleventh largest arena in the United Kingdom. ACC Liverpool as a whole was designed by Wilkinson Eyre architects.[3] There are six dressing rooms, five team locker rooms and two promoter offices within the arena.[3] Vehicles weighing up to 38 tonnes can gain access to the basement of the arena.[3]

Environmental sustainability

Echo Arena Liverpool is one of the most sustainable venues in Europe, designed to reduce half of its CO2 emissions. Features across the complex control light, temperature and electricity usage and harvest rainwater for toilet flushing, while a crop of turbines on the River Mersey contributes to its electricity supply. Due to this design, Echo Arena has been awarded a string of environmental and architectural accolades. ACC Liverpool, the home to both Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre has a BREEAM rating of 'very good'.[3]

Event spaces

The overall capacity of Echo Arena Liverpool is 11,000 and is suitable for a range of events including concerts, live broadcasting events and national and international sporting events.

EchoTwo is a smaller and more intimate space created within the main arena with a capacity of up to 4,000.

The Auditorium Liverpool is situated within Echo Arena Liverpool’s connected sister venue BT Convention Centre, The Auditorium Liverpool is an intimate performance space with a capacity of 850 – 1,350 which is acoustically designed to allow audiences to get even closer to the action.

Notable events

The Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool complex is capable of hosting a whole range of events including music concerts, conventions, sporting events, children's entertainment and more. Since the arena's opening in 2008, it has regularly played host to many of the world's top musical acts. Many world famous artists have performed at the arena, including Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, Kylie Minogue, Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, The Eagles, Lady Gaga, Gloria Estefan, Oasis, The Killers, Nickelback, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Katy Perry, Arctic Monkeys, KISS, Neil Young, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé, Calvin Harris, Bruno Mars, Drake, Nicki Minaj and Girls Aloud who performed their final concert together here.

The MOBO Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, Davis Cup Tennis, GB Judo World Cup and European Team Badminton Championships have all taken place at Echo Arena. International superstars such as Sir Paul McCartney, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Beyoncé have also graced the venue’s main stage, along with national comedy heroes like John Bishop and Russell Howard.

History

Echo Arena Liverpool, part of The ACC Liverpool Group, opened its doors on 12 January 2008 with the official opening ceremony for the Capital of Culture, launching a year-long celebration and signalling the culmination of a decade of regeneration in the city. Since opening, Echo Arena Liverpool has hosted over 900 events and welcomed 5 million visitors through its doors. Concerts, live sporting events, comedy and dance events have all been held in the venue.

The purpose built arena has a capacity of 11,000 and boasts 22 hospitality boxes which offer panoramic views of the venue. A backstage artist village and 1,600 space car park are also located onsite.

The opening of sister venue Exhibition Centre Liverpool, part of The ACC Liverpool Group, in September 2015 has resulted in the campus now being able to offer a much broader offer for standing concerts and international sporting events – accommodating competition, congress and training facilities all under the one roof.

In June 2016, Liverpool was named as a UNESCO City of Music

Direct public transport to Echo Arena is by bus. James Street railway station is a short walk away and is served by the Merseyrail Wirral Line. The station is two stops away from Liverpool Lime Street mainline station via the city's underground Loop Line.

The arena is situated opposite the portal of the now disused Wapping Tunnel which runs from Edge Hill in the east of the city. There have been calls to reuse the 1.26 miles (2.03 km) tunnel with a station serving the arena and immediate docks on the site of the demolished Park Lane station which was at the end of the tunnel.

In August 2009, the Liverpool Daily Post reported that a new tram-train link from Edge Hill in the east of the city to the Echo Arena at Kings Dock is being considered.[4]

See also

References

  1. http://www.echoarena.com/the_venue/index.asp
  2. It's the Echo Arena Liverpool Echo, retrieved on 5 June 2007
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Liverpool Echo Arena". Emporis. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  4. "Tram link bid for Liverpool airport". Liverpool Daily Post. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
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