Opening season of Wolverhampton's revamped Civic Halls boosts local economy by £1.6 million

The revamped Civic Halls burst back into life in May, marking the end of an eight year renovation project to the tune of £48m.

Opening season at the venue saw 25 shows staged between May 26 and July 13, with Britpop legends Blur marking its official reopening with a sell-out show.

The Halls is estimated to have attracted more than 50,000 visitors to the city, with 20 per cent of sales coming from Wolverhampton postcodes, 60 per cent from the wider region and 20 per cent from other parts of the UK and international visitors.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for visitor city, said the revamped venue has raised the city's "national and international profile".

Mr Gakhal added: "As we expected, The Halls Wolverhampton is proving to be the cornerstone of a resurgent night-time economy in the city centre – and we know businesses are now planning use of their resources around its events.

"There has been excellent feedback from artists, managers, agents, promoters and ticket holders to the new-look venue and it is raising the city’s national and international profile – one customer even flew in from the Philippines solely to attend The Script show.

"Working closely with the new operator, AEG Presents, the venue’s rich heritage has been preserved and our vision of re-imagining an iconic institution that will continue to bring joy to the lives of locals – and city visitors - for years to come has been realised.

"It will play a key part in shaping our city centre and is fostering growing confidence in Wolverhampton through more private sector investment.

"There is also strong potential for the delivery of a quality hotel offer and we are working with partners to entice more private sector food and beverage provision."

Wolverhampton Council has said investment in The Halls is part of a "master plan" for the city centre to improve visitor economy.

This plan includes public realm improvement works that have now been completed on Victoria Street and North Street as part of a £22m package of investment in the west of the city centre.

The local authority has said the scheme is attracting more visitors and enabling businesses to "thrive and grow" through a combined approach of retail supported by events and activities in "quality" public spaces and city centre living.

Steve Homer, CEO of AEG Presents UK, added: "We couldn't be more pleased with the way the opening weeks have gone at The Halls.

"The response from the music industry has been incredibly positive and we were delighted to welcome over 50,000 people through the doors in the first month.

"Seeing the local businesses thriving in the hours leading up to the shows has been a great sight to behold – the calendar for the autumn and beyond is looking strong so we are starting as we mean to go on."

The revamped Halls plays host to both music and entertainment performers and business events and conferences.

Its summer musical season is now in full swing, with the next show at the venue set to take place on September 1.

Tickets are on sale for a host of top acts coming to the new 3,404-capacity "The Civic at The Halls Wolverhampton" and 1,289-capacity "The Wulfrun at The Halls Wolverhampton" in 2023 and 2024.

For more information, go to thehallswolverhampton.co.uk