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Culture

New venue planned on site where historic theatre once stood

By David Owens
Artist's impression of the Capitol Arena

Plans are underway to open a new multi-purpose venue in the Welsh capital.

The new venue, named the Capitol Arena, is planned for the current Capitol shopping centre, which was built on the site where The Capitol Theatre once stood.

The venue, which is still at the planning/licensing stage, takes its name from the historic theatre - the much loved venue closed in 1978 and was demolished in 1983 to make way for the new shopping centre. The Capitol Arena's branding is a nod to the once famous signage that used to adorn the theatre building.

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In its 60s and 70s heyday the venue played host to some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll, from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan Jimi Hendrix and The Who to Queen, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Roxy Music and Marc Bolan.

The Capitol Arena aims to reinvigorate Cardiff's live music scene, with a 950-1000 capacity venue to be developed in a basement unit in the current building.

The original Capitol Theatre on Queen Street in Cardiff (Credit: ITV Wales)

In a brochure produced by the developers of the new venue, it states: "Formerly a catalogue store at the turn of the century, this basement unit within the Capitol Shopping Centre has been long forgotten.

"We want to invest in this long forgotten space to create a multi-purpose venue which can be adapted for any number of functions, events and community uses.

"Despite having a musical heritage to be proud of, Cardiff has a shockingly low amount of live music venues left. And that's certainly not through lack of musical talent."

"The opening of the Capitol Arena will mark a welcome and long awaited return of live entertainment to this cherished location, honouring its legacy while building a new future for Cardiff’s creative community."

Capitol Arena artwork

The developers say the venue will be designed in such a way that it will be suitable for a range of commercial and community based events including - live music, comedy, theatre, weddings, exercise/dance classes, food markets, jobs fairs, Comic cons and exhibitions.

They also promise state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, along with premium backstage facilities including high quality dressing rooms

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The venue will be divided into two separate rooms:
Room A - Large Event Space with stage and optional seating.
Room B - Bar Area to support Room 1.
Both rooms will be linked together by an internal lobby.

Capitol Arena venue plan

Follow the latest developments at the Capitol Arena via their Facebook page HERE

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12 comments

andy w

An excellent plan. Cardiff as a city should also copy other regions growth models. In 1990s i worked on Montreal and their economy went bankrupt late 1970s after hosting a major sports event and building a major airport that had no customers (remarkable similarities to Cardiff). Montreal today is base of global engineering firms such as WSP, Air Canada, Air Transat; plus Cirque du Soleil and Just for Laughs comedy festival. London is now over-priced for short-breaks and now is the time for Cardiff to focus on its' music / arts / cultural heritage to grow its' tourism sector.

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Bram

How did Montreal turn things around?

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andy w

creation of a networking group, where everybody met in evenings and worked free-of-charge and linked to a University

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In reply to andy w

andy w

The UK often focuses on lots of initiatives and seeking government funding / seasonal tourism / never copy other countries. Maturer economies focus on expanding one sector at a time. Cardiff needs more venues created and open November to March (excluding school holidays and major sporting events) as this creates year-round jobs, which hopefully will not be lost in a recession. Venues need to copy Wetherspoons business model / ethos, not celebrity chef restaurants that are open a few nights per week and the majority go bankrupt in a recession.

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In reply to andy w

Bram

Improving the visitor economy is important but so is becoming a "base of global engineering firms". Surely it needed more than a breakfast club?

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In reply to Bram

andy w

Engineering jobs are important, Edinburgh tourism is excellent https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/14243/edinburgh-s-economy-outperforms-london-s

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In reply to andy w

Bram

Can I assume that Montreal's success was down to devolved powers that Wales is denied? Is that why better tourism is all that's available?

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In reply to Bram

andy w

Montreal benefits from support from Paris / Geneva / other French speaking countries. Canada has four Finance hubs, Cardiff could develop its' Finance capability more?

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In reply to andy w

Bram

I assume Canada's federal structure supports multiple finance hubs. Because there's no fiscal, legal or regulatory difference between London and other parts of the UK everyone chooses the global financial capital. The only reason not to do this is cheaper wages and costs, which is why the service centres end up here, until somewhere cheaper comes along. Without having the levers to differentiate and compete fairly, London will always hoover up the best global opportunities.

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Rob

"the much loved venue closed in 1978 and was demolished in 1983 to make way for the new shopping centre. " I thought the Capitol Centre opened in the early 90s? Did it really take 7 years to build it?

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Bram

This article doesn't mention the proposed Gravity Max development which could align well with this new events space. https://itsoncardiff.co.uk/gravity-max-urban-theme-park-set-to-open-in-cardiff/ There's also an empty cinema crying out for community support.

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Lynne fletcher

Marc Bolan would have played with T.Rex, not on his own

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An excellent plan. Cardiff as a city should also copy other regions growth models. In 1990s i worked on Montreal and their economy went bankrupt late 1970s after hosting a major sports event and building a major airport that had no...

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