Uncertainty over planned £80million 10,000-capacity arena on Sunderland's Crowtree site

The plans, made public in 2022, include a 10,000-capacity arena, a food hall, restaurants, a hotel and studios. The venue is earmarked for the site of the old Crowtree Leisure Centre, with the ultimate aim of attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city every year.

In January 2022 Sunderland City Council said it was working with a range of partners to deliver the project, including a UK based industry-leading operator, and that more than £20million in funding for the project had been sourced from the local authority and the Government.

The Echo reported over a year ago: “The arena will move into advanced design stages if the council cabinet sign off the proposed budget for the scheme.”

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said at the time: “The rate of transformation in our city points to the level of regeneration we are delivering for Sunderland and this development raises that bar higher.

“We set out an ambition to bring more experiences to the city as part of our Riverside Sunderland investment strategy, and you only have to look at the change to date in the city centre to see that it is more than an aspiration – it’s something we’re determined to make a reality.”

A year later, in response to questions from the Echo, the council has not explicitly said that the scheme will go ahead, but that “all options for Crowtree are being examined”.

Twelve months ago the proposals received enthusiastic backing from key figures and organisations in the city, including Sunderland BID, Sunderland Business Partnership, the North East England Chamber of Commerce and David Bell, vice chancellor and chief executive of the University of Sunderland.

The response from Echo readers was also overwhelmingly positive.

A new statement from Sunderland City Council reads – in full: “The City Council continues to deliver its ambitious programme of investment for the city centre in what is a difficult economic climate.

“All options for Crowtree are being examined and this includes the feasibility of the arena development and its associated opportunities.”

A report from a council cabinet meeting on October 13 said: “The proposed development of an Arena on the former Crowtree Leisure site.

“Work continues to consider the options for the redevelopment of the former Crowtree Leisure Centre site considering the latest economic environment of increasing borrowing rates, construction inflation costs and energy cost increases.

“These issues continue to affect viability of projects therefore further optioneering is required to consider development opportunities

“Land assembly negotiations are advancing however the complexity of the negotiations means acquisitions are delayed resulting in enabling works to be reprofiled to 2023/2024 and a budget of £8.798m to be reprofiled to future years.”

A February 2 cabinet meeting dealt with a report showing that £81.59million has been set aside to 2026/2027 for a project listed as City of Sunderland Arena.

Part of the project is described later in the report as “a new mixed-use leisure development on the site of the former Crowtree Leisure centre.”