SMG Europe will be the operators of the Leeds Arena. Operators of arenas are responsible for managing arenas and have responsibility for a number of areas including: venue maintenance, marketing events, staffing and booking and organising world class entertainers to perform at the venue.
There are very few operators who have the knowledge, skills and experience to successfully operate venues such as the entertainment focussed Leeds Arena. SMG are one of them.
In SMG, the Leeds Arena has an operator widely acknowledged as one of the leading arena operators in the world. Worldwide, SMG run over 200 venues, totalling 1.4 million seats, with 75,000 seats in Europe. In the UK, SMG operates the following Arenas:
- MEN Arena in Manchester
- Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle
- Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle, and the
- Odyssey Arena in Belfast.
In mainland Europe, SMG manages:
- The König-Pilsener Arena in Germany
- Loreley Amphitheatre in Germany, and the
- Oslo Spektrum in Norway's capital.
SMG were also awarded the contract to operate the major venues for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, the largest multi-sports event ever held in Britain with competitors from over 70 countries.
With worldwide interest in operating the Leeds Arena, SMG outlined the desire for Leeds to have the United Kingdom’s first super theatre arena and were chosen as the Leeds Arena operator in May 2008. With continued progress made since, SMG are now working closely with the project team to help deliver a facility of national and international significance.
Going Forward
SMG will lease the building from Leeds City Council in a 25 year agreement. The council will act as the landlord once construction is complete . SMG will provide more information on the Leeds Arena as opening nears. This will include:
- Details on employment vacancies,
- The announcement of the first acts to perform at the Leeds Arena,
- Information on the official name of the Leeds Arena and
- The launch of the official Leeds Arena website