Have Massive Attack gigs paved the way for an arena in Filton?
Malaysian investment firm YTL says it is pleased the gigs were "such a success"
When Massive Attack announced they would be playing two shows at a custom-built venue in Filton many people asked whether it would act as a test run for an arena.
First proposed 15 years ago, the road to an arena for Bristol has been long and arduous to say the least.
A row over where an arena would be built intensified in 2018, when plans for an arena at Temple Island were thrown out, leading the way for a privately-developed arena funded by Malaysian investment firm YTL in the Brabazon hangar on Filton Airfield
While YTL is yet to announce any official plans, it launched its own arena website and the team behind the project say they are hoping to be able to share proposals in the coming months.
Today (March 3), YTL Developments told Bristol Live how pleased it is the Massive Attack gigs were "such a success".
A spokesperson added: "It gives us confidence that, when the planned new rail and metrobus links are in place, a 16,000 capacity arena would certainly be able to handle the numbers."
However the thought of an arena at this location - on the border of Bristol and South Gloucestershire - has historically not sat well with critics, who say it should be in the city centre or nowhere.
Part of their reasoning is an arena on the outskirts of the city may not be economically beneficial to the city centre.
Some fear concert-goers would drive to a gig and stay only for a few hours before driving home, buying a Costa or McDonald’s on the way out of the city.
And this leads to the other main issue for critics of a Filton arena - how would people get to events on the edge of the city?
There are no obvious transport hubs. Only a few buses go past the hangars on Gloucester Road North. Patchway station is a little more than a mile away, but how easy is it to get a train there?
So when Massive Attack announced they would be playing on the airfield next to the Brabazon hangar, people were quick to predict long traffic delays and issues with the shuttle bus service organisers had arranged.
Some perhaps even thought those delays would be a sure fire signal there should not be an arena in Filton.
But reports of people getting stuck in traffic for hours on their way to and from the gigs never surfaced. Nor did tales of people stranded at bus stops because there were not enough shuttle buses to cater for the demand.
Instead gig-goers were quick to take praise the transport and parking organisation - although there were mixed reviews about the gig itself and issues surrounding card machines and long queues for the toilets and bar.
Now that’s not to say the transport organisation was seamless. There have been mixed reports about how long people had to queue to get out of the car park. Taxi drop-off and pick-up seemed to be the biggest source of complaints.
Not only had Uber drivers charging a premium but they also couldn’t find their way into the venue to collect their passengers.
But for the most part people seem to have been impressed by what they saw - no major traffic issues and a good shuttle service from the venue to the city centre.
So what does this mean for arena plans at the Brabazon hangar?
On one hand it was a semi-successful test run which proved transport solutions could be a problem easily solved.
That’s not to mention transport schemes already planned by Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils for the area, which will happen regardless of whether an arena is built at the site.
This includes a Temple Meads to Brabazon station rail link and a new metrobus route which will go directly through the new Brabazon neighbourhood.
YTL Developments, which owns the former airfield site, said it was pleased to see 14,000 fans "arrived and departed smoothly" for Massive Attack.
"It gives us confidence that when the planned new rail and metrobus links are in place a 16,000 capacity arena would certainly be able to handle the numbers," they added.
However this was a one-time event at a custom-built venue on the airfield. Being able to organise transport for one weekend does not mean every other event would take place without a glitch.
Not to mention that thousands of new homes are planned for just a stone’s throw away from the arena on the other side of the railway line.
How would this affect buses, taxis and cars bringing concert-goers to an arena? Maybe it won't? Who knows.
But it will be interesting to see is if YTL and Bristol City Council use this weekend as an example for why an arena should be built in Filton.