Significant growth continues at Coventry Building Society Arena two years on from acquisition

The growth of a leading sport, entertainment and business venue is gaining momentum two years after a major acquisition.

Coventry Building Society Arena was brought under new ownership in November 2022 and the venue is continuing to see significant growth and investment.

The venue, which welcomes more than one million visitors annually, has seen revenue up 14 per cent over the last six months compared to the same period in 2023.

Coventry Building Society Arena has welcomed nearly 320,000 visitors over the last six months and hosted 200 events, from England’s Lionesses, The Monster inflatable course and Bryan Adams, to a packed calendar of conferences, exhibitions and gala dinner events.

Attendances have continued to grow at Coventry City fixtures and the venue has invested in improving the matchday experience for fans and support the higher attendances.

Its growth has been built on a thriving conference and exhibition business, fuelled with growth in exhibitions and large corporate bookings.

The business has seen revenue growth of 36% in conferences and exhibitions and more than 12 per cent growth in number of events on the equivalent six-month period last year.

Event events hosted at the venue over the last six months have ranged from B2B events such as Engineering Design Show, British Blind and Shutter Show and National Painting and Decorating Show, to other new events such as Comic Con Mania and Coventry Jazz, Blues & Beer Festival.

It comes in a period which has seen the venue launch a new look and identity ‘The Best Times Are Here’ to spearhead its growth, which included a new live events proposition ‘CBS Live’ to position it as a venue of choice for promoters in the Midlands.

The venue also saw major investment to enhance its facilities last summer, including the creation of new lounges and refurbishment of office spaces.

Last year Coventry Building Society Arena launched a five-year strategy, with six core pillars identified to ensure the long-term success of the venue: growth, creating better experiences, people, brand, expanding the proposition and ways of working.

The business is already making significant progress on the six pillars, particularly through its refreshed brand launch and expanding its live events proposition, with Sean Paul and Bryan Adams headlining its summer programme.

Coventry Building Society Arena has also recently launched a new regional partnership programme to support the growth of other local businesses, including Purple Planet Packaging, Dhillon’s Brewery and No Ordinary Hospitality Management.

It has led to the Arena being shortlisted for seven industry awards in the last six months, including winning Operations Team of the Year at the Stadium Events & Hospitality Awards, and Gold in the Sustainability Category at the Green World Awards.

The last six months have also seen the venue open its doors to the community, welcoming school, charities and community groups for tours, and all-access tours being held for the very first time and proving successful with a string of sold-out dates. 

The growth at Coventry Building Society Arena has corresponded with record-breaking tourism across Coventry, with the city attracting a record 11.39 million people in 2023.

Paul Michael, Managing Director at Coventry Building Society Arena, says that the venue has transformed since being acquired and the ownership has given the business strong foundations for growth.

“The last two years have been a remarkable period for the venue and the stability brought the new owners has underpinned everything we have been able to achieve,” said Paul.

“We’re in a very positive position and proud to be playing a key role in the thriving wider visitor economy in Coventry.

“This time last year we set our strategy for growth and after only 12 months we are already starting to reap the rewards of that work, particularly in the development of our live events portfolio and strong growth across our conference and exhibitions business.

“We have a brilliant team here at the venue and there is real excitement about what we will be achieving next, including working with our regional partners to bring more showstopping major events to Coventry.”