Further details have been revealed about Ricoh Arena’s plans to enhance its conferencing and exhibition facilities ahead of the Commonwealth Games after receiving multi-million-pound Government funding.
Around £3.8 million has been made available to the venue via the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), who successfully secured the investment from £66 million worth of Government funding that was provided to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) as part of the Government’s Getting Building Fund.
An additional £1.4 million has also been made available to Ricoh Arena via CWLEP from the Local Growth Fund and Growing Places Fund.
The estimated £5.3 million investment will see a new pavilion installed – complete with digital signage – at the south entrance of the venue as part of plans to launch a Commonwealth Convention Centre that will offer 1,847 square metres of state-of-the-art AV and conference facilities.
The Commonwealth Convention Centre will be created as a result of major refurbishment works of the venue’s lower halls on the south side of the venue.
This means that visitors to the venue will soon have seamless access to more than 8,000 square metres of conference and exhibition event space.
The existing 6,000 square metre exhibition hall will also undergo state-of-the-art cosmetic refurbishments in preparations for hosting judo and wrestling at the Commonwealth Games, while additional food and beverage offerings are also being introduced in the venue atrium.
Stephen Vaughan, Chief Executive at Ricoh Arena, said: “This investment ensures that Ricoh Arena and North East Coventry will continue to feel the economic benefit of having the Commonwealth Games for many years to come thanks to its top-class facilities.
“As a venue we take great pride in being at the forefront of the event industry’s curve – as was seen with the implementation of 5G technology last year – and we feel this latest investment will enable us to realise the venue’s full potential by attracting more large scale conferences and exhibitions, on top of the hundreds that we already host every year, and in turn, creating more jobs from additional food and beverage outlets.
“This is an exciting time for Coventry with City of Culture and Commonwealth Games on the horizon, and we are looking forward to playing our part in helping the region to flourish from both of their legacies in the years to come.”