The company which already owns the O2 Arena in London has lodged a planning application for an arena to seat 8,500 people.

The arena will sit beside the tram and railway lines at Edinburgh Park and the 18,500 square metres structure will be built on scrubland all part of the master development by Parabola which has already built an office, padel courts and a multi-storey car park there.

The development will employ around 1,300 people to run the venue expected to attract 700,000 visitors each year adding around £83 million to the local economy each year.

Alex Hill, President and CEO of AEG Europe said: “We are thrilled to be progressing with our plans for a spectacular new arena for Edinburgh. The city has long been renowned as a destination for global culture and one of the world’s best for the arts and live entertainment. We’re excited to build on this reputation and bring world-class live music and entertainment to Edinburgh, as well as investing in the wider Edinburgh Park community through the creation of 1000+ employment opportunities.”

Alistair Wood, Executive Vice President of Real Estate & Development for AEG Europe, said: “We’re delighted by the feedback and valuable insights we’ve received during the extensive consultation and public exhibition process. It’s been fantastic to see such strong support for our plans, and therefore we are hopeful for a swift and clear decision following our planning application.”

Wood continues: “If we were able to secure planning permission, our focus would then immediately turn to identifying a Building Contractor and Naming Rights partner to bring this exciting project to life on site.”

The company has said it hopes to have planning permission by this summer and will start work on the site immediately thereafter.

The planning application follows a consultation phase which was undertaken last December when any local residents had the chance to comment on the development.

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.