News / Ashton Gate Stadium
‘Bristol needs big events and Ashton Gate brings that to the city’
The boss of Ashton Gate says that the stadium brings in largescale events to Bristol unlike any other venue.
Speaking over the weekend in which Take That played two consecutive concerts, Ashton Gate Stadium CEO Mark Kelly said that Bristol can lag behind other cities.
And he said that Ashton Gate will only continue getting better: “Football, rugby, conferencing, events, we’re building our own arena, we’re going to add to that over the next coming years.”
is needed now More than ever
The arena that Kelly is referring to is the sports & convention centre that will form part of Ashton Gate’s ambitious Sporting Quarter development, which will be the new home for the Bristol Flyers basketball team as well as being able to hold sports, entertainment, events and community uses.
But for now, there is solely the stadium. “We’ve got close to 90,000-plus visitors coming into Bristol this weekend and then the following two weeks thereafter,” Kelly said.
“Bristol needs that as a city. We fall behind sometimes to Birmingham, Liverpool and Cardiff for the big events so we’re really pleased.
“And that’s one of our big milestones, to bring people into the city… and enjoy everything that Bristol has to offer. We’re very proud to add to that.”
When the new redeveloped Ashton Gate Stadium was designed, concerts were always a big part of the plans alongside matchdays.
It’s now the fifth year of big music events, with Kelly saying that “it looks well-oiled but 12 months of work goes into this”, with a conference coming to the stadium on Monday.
“That’s what the stadium is here to do and we’re very proud of that,” added Kelly.
And in 2024 for the first time, the team at Ashton Gate are putting on their own concert: the BS3 all-dayer on June 22 with a lineup including Ne-Yo, Craig David and Jess Glynne, the day before Kings of Leon.
“To put on our own event, self-promote it, self-sell, is a really interesting concept and something that we have developed.
“The team have done an incredible job with the lineup, it’s something completely different…
“I’m excited to see that… and it’s something else the stadium is bringing to the city, and this is all positive and much-needed.”
Main photo: Bristol Sport
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