The Coventry Building Society (CBS) Arena, which was brought under new ownership in November, has revealed that it attracted more than 966,000 visitors in 2022.

Overall visitor figures have risen by more than 348,000 since 2021, boosted by major international events including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Rugby League World Cup.

What was on?

More than 630 events have been hosted over the course of the year at the arena, a 37% increase from last year.

The venue hosted 69 large conferences, 23 annual awards events and 230 small meetings. Last year saw the opening of the new £6.3m Commonwealth Convention Centre, which increased the indoor conference and exhibition space at the arena to 7,750sqm.

Approximately 60 exhibitions were held in 2022 (which is up from 39 held in 2021), creating a record year for the exhibition side of the business.

Performances by The Killers and Rammstein also saw 60,000 concert-goers head to Coventry. While over 600,000 people attended sports events at the venue between January and December.

Paul Michael, commercial director at Coventry Building Society Arena, said: “Set against the backdrop of a difficult year, our team has produced an extraordinary 12 months of business at the venue.

“We have hosted a record number of exhibitions and have further positioned the venue as a leader in that sector, with new exhibitions launching with us including The Big Zero Show and Beauty UK. Now we have the certainty of our new ownership we are set for an even stronger 2023.”

Following Wasps RFC’s administration in October, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group purchased 100% of the venue for £17m in December.

Source: Conference News