Levelling up: Gateshead arena secures £20m to get back on track

Ministers have confirmed they will be putting a multi-million pound investment into the building of the new Sage arena, conference centre, and hospitality complex. Credit: Gateshead Council

Gateshead has been given £20m from the Government to get the building of a “world class” arena on the Quayside back on track.

Ministers have confirmed they will be putting a multi-million pound investment into the building of the new Sage arena, conference centre, and hospitality complex.

There have been worries that the massive development, which will act as a replacement for the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, could be scuppered by spiralling costs hitting the construction industry – with the escalating price of steel being a major worry.

Gateshead Council’s £20m bid to the delayed second round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) has been successful.

Work on the early stages of building the new Quayside arena facilities, which were expected to cost £300m, and will be between the existing Sage concert hall and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, has ground to a halt recently as the council awaited the outcome of the funding bid.

A bid to secure extra money for the project, which it is hoped will attract nearly 800,000 visitors a year, was announced in June last year, having failed to secure backing when the first Levelling Up Fund winners were named in 2021.

The development will feature a 12,500-capacity arena and a conference centre, plus new bars, restaurants, public space and walkways along the Quayside. 

With Sage PLC having bought the naming rights for the new complex, the existing Sage Gateshead music centre next door is due to be renamed.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:  “This new funding will create jobs, drive economic growth, and help to restore local pride. We are delivering on the people’s priorities, levelling up across the UK to ensure that no matter where you are from, you can go as far as your talents will take you.”

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