Huge city arena may hold 13,000

A state-of-the-art sports arena and conference centre to rival Birmingham's NIA could be built in Wolverhampton, it was revealed in a report today.

The venue would have a similar capacity to the NIA's 13,000 and would host international sporting, business and music events. Regeneration bosses are exploring the idea of creating a large arena in the city, possibly on land in the Horseley Fields area of the city. The proposals have been put forward in the Black Country Core Strategy in a report.

The document maps out the potential for the region over the next 20 years. It says that the arena, described as a "sports beacon", should be built near to the proposed new transport interchange, which will see the redevelopment of the train and bus station.

Wolverhampton City Council stated that the proposals, which would put the city on the international stage, were currently at the "very early stages".

The report has been compiled by officers at all four Black Country councils, and sets out the agenda for the region by 2026.

It states: "By 2026 Wolverhampton will be served by an established, confident city centre with a wide variety of quality shops and cultural attractions, 21st century offices, urban living and a city-scale public transport network.

"A modern public realm network, vibrant canalside quarter and remodelled ring road will have made the compact city centre attractive to walkers and cyclists."

Peter Bilson, a Wolverhampton City Council cabinet member for regeneration, said: "The prospect of having a centre of excellence like that in Wolverhampton is tremendous.

"Whether or not it would be in time for the 2012 Olympics, or will be a facility to support generations for many years beyond that, it is a terrific example of how Wolverhampton is making its mark and a statement about why people would want to come here," explained the councillor.

The area and conference centre vision for the future of Wolverhampton also backs Wolves' owner Steve Morgan's pledge last week.

He stated the city's Molineux would be remodelled in order to increase capacity to around 40,000 – compared to the 28,000.