Phoenix ArenaBlackpool

A 20,000-seat arena at Blackpool Central

Blackpool
rises.

Next to the Tower, bigger than Bloomfield Road, built for the tours that stop at Manchester and Liverpool and miss us out. Government has set aside £20 million to look at it. Here is one idea of what it could be.

Have your say See the concept

Move your mouse through the fire

Independent concept. Not a planning application.

Why an arena, and why now

Blackpool has been putting on shows for 130 years. The Tower Ballroom, the Winter Gardens, the Opera House, the Grand, the Pleasure Beach, the Illuminations, three piers. What it has never had is an indoor venue bigger than about 3,000 seats. The Opera House is the largest theatre in town. Bloomfield Road holds 17,000 on a match day and the roof is open. So the arena tours play the AO Arena and Co-op Live in Manchester, the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool and the First Direct Arena in Leeds, and Blackpool gets the coach trip.

The town centre is being rebuilt: Blackpool Central on the old Central station site, Talbot Gateway by North station, the Multiversity campus on Cookson Street. In 2026 the Government committed £20 million to explore a new arena for Blackpool after a campaign led by Chris Webb MP. The Phoenix Arena is one independent idea of what that could be.

The new Blackpool arena: what we know

People search for "Blackpool arena" and find press releases. Here are the plain answers, kept up to date as things happen. Last checked 3 November 2026.

Is Blackpool getting a new arena?
Not yet. In 2026 the Government committed £20 million to explore a new arena for Blackpool, after a campaign led by Chris Webb MP. That money pays for the work that decides whether, where and how one gets built. No planning application has been made.
What is the Phoenix Arena?
An independent concept by Carters Building Consultancy, published in February 2026, for a 20,000-capacity multi-use arena at Blackpool Central with a winged roof. It is one idea of what a Blackpool arena could be, not an approved scheme.
Where would it be?
The concept puts it on the Blackpool Central site: the old Central station land south of the Tower, between the Promenade and Central Drive, where the car parks and Bonny Street are now. About twenty minutes on foot from North station, or a tram to the Tower stop.
How many seats?
Up to 20,000. Blackpool's biggest indoor venue today, the Opera House, seats about 2,800. The AO Arena in Manchester holds about 21,000, Co-op Live 23,500, Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena 11,000 and the First Direct Arena in Leeds 13,500.
Who designed it?
Carters Building Consultancy, an architectural practice, developed the concept independently as a contribution to the Blackpool Central regeneration debate. This site is not run by Carters, Blackpool Council or the Government.
When would it open?
There is no date. The £20 million funds feasibility and development work first. A venue this size normally takes several years from a decision to opening.
What would it be used for?
Arena concert tours, boxing, darts and other live sport, comedy and family shows, esports, conferences and exhibitions, with restaurants, terraces and a public square meant to keep it open every day, not only on show nights.
Where can I read more?
Carters' Phoenix Arena page has the full concept and the press coverage. Blackpool Council publishes Blackpool Central updates on its own site. We'll link the Government's announcement and any consultation here when they're published.

The concept so far

The roof is a set of wings. You would see them from the prom, from the top of the Tower and from the Big One. Between them is an open ring of glass over the main entrance. The building is meant to sit next to the Tower without trying to outdo it.

Aerial visualisation at dusk of the proposed Phoenix Arena beside Blackpool Tower, its winged roof lit from within, the promenade and sea behind
Above the Golden Mile at dusk
Night visualisation of the Phoenix Arena with the roof wings lit and Blackpool Tower behind
Show night
Visualisation of the 20,000-seat arena bowl during a concert
Inside the bowl
Visualisation of the arena's entrance atrium with a large marine aquarium
The arrival atrium
Visualisation of a restaurant inside the arena looking into an aquarium wall
Dining under the sea
Aerial visualisation of the Phoenix Arena at Blackpool Central with the Tower and seafront
The Central site from the air

Visualisations by Carters Building Consultancy, who published the Phoenix Arena concept in February 2026. Shown here to get people talking. The design is theirs.

Walk round it

A model built from what the concept tells us: a glazed oval bowl, a shallow roof with a ring of glass over the entrance, eight fins swept up like wings, a square round the outside, and the Tower about 300 metres away for scale. Drag to orbit. Nothing here is to a drawing; the seat numbers are a guess at how a 20,000 bowl would be sold.

Show night

The 3D model needs WebGL, which this browser doesn't have.

Getting there

Most people would come by train. Out of North station, along Talbot Road to the prom, left at the Tower. Or the tram from the stop outside the station to the Tower. Not to scale.

North station Winter Gardens Tower North Pier Central Pier Phoenix Arena Irish Sea Talbot Road Promenade to Preston

About 20 minutes on foot

Twenty thousand seats.
Pick yours.

Every dot is ten seats. Hover or tap to see where you would sit.

Block B, row 12. Lower tier, side on to the stage.

What would get you through the doors first?

One vote a day. You see the running total as soon as you have voted.

How we got here

  1. Eight arc lamps light the promenade, years before most towns had electric light. The Illuminations grow out of it.

  2. The Tower opens. The Winter Gardens, the Grand and the Opera House follow, and the town becomes the place the North goes for a night out.

  3. Blackpool Central, Talbot Gateway and the Multiversity campus start the biggest rebuild of the town centre in a century.

  4. Carters Building Consultancy publishes the Phoenix Arena concept: 20,000 seats, a winged roof, a venue for every day of the year.

  5. Government commits £20 million to explore a new arena for Blackpool. The concept is on the front page of the Gazette.

Get updates when there's news

One email when something happens: a consultation, a decision, a new design. Nothing else. Reply to any email to come off the list.