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The Business Magazine July 2024
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CBS Arena eyeing more major events after successful 2024

Picture contributed
Picture contributed
20 January 2025
Picture contributed

Bosses at the Coventry Building Society Arena aim to bring more major events to the Midlands venue after hitting 1.2 million visitors last year, supported by its new live events proposition, which drove 50,000 new visitors.

CBS Live launched in 2024, as part of the venue's growth strategy.

The arena played host to live acts including Sean Paul and Bryan Adams and also saw the world’s largest inflatable obstacle course The Monster.

There was also growth in sport last year, with attendances at Coventry City fixtures continuing to rise and a 14 per cent increase in fans attending games. Also, 20,228 fans came to see to see England’s Lionesses play South Africa in October.

There was a 48 per cent increase in the number of large conferences held with 83 compared to 56 in 2023. It also hosted 573 exhibitions, large conferences, small meetings, awards events and gala dinners - with exhibitions also up 4 per cent.

"This was an important year for our business as we aimed to maintain growth, but also diversify our proposition and introduce new strategic priorities, " said Paul Michael, managing director at Coventry Building Society Arena.

"We’re excited about the future of our live events business and CBS Live has enjoyed a strong start, but now our goal is to bring more major events to the venue which will in turn have a positive impact on the wider visitor economy in Coventry.

"Our team has worked tirelessly to build customer confidence in the business over the last three years and that work is bearing fruit, reflected by the impressive growth in our conference and exhibition business," he added.

Last year was also been underpinned by investment, new partnerships, an expanded ESG and sustainability strategy and an increase in marketing reach.

The venue has sealed partnerships with Purple Planet Packaging and No Ordinary Hospitality Management. Other sponsorship successes have included opening premium dining lounge, The Mahou Experience.

As part of its carbon offsetting strategy it has planted 18,992 trees and removed 38,421 plastic bottles from the ocean.

Its digital marketing has also continued to evolve, with a 38 per cent increase in social media reach and recording 33 million impressions.

Enquiry levels are up 50 per cent on 2023, equivalent to £41.5 million, reflecting confidence in the arena in the conference and exhibitions market.

The on-site Doubletree by Hilton Hotel also saw an increase in occupancy rates, average room rates and revenue per available room, said the CBS Arena.

The hotel is set to build on this growth by completing a full hotel refurbishment in 2025.


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Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.

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