Chamber representatives including David Wade-Smith, Ed Oliver and Jack Stopforth got their first glimpse of the inner workings of the new Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre, now only six months away from completion. It’s no exaggeration to say they were impressed! Here’s why.

The ACC is Liverpool’s first ever world-class Arena venue and with the Grosvenor development at Liverpool One, will finally link the waterfront with the City Centre. It has cost £164m to build and is a stunning addition to the waterfront; a sleek, modern, eco-friendly design that will act as a beacon for the rebirth of Liverpool.

But enough of the corporate speak - what’s it really like?

Decked out in our flattering yellow jackets, white helmets and Wellington boots, the tour began with a sweep past the River End of the centre where it quickly became clear that the outside structure is virtually complete and the building will be watertight in the very near future. Even on this grey and fairly dismal day, the exterior looked superb.

Venturing inside the complex, the first port of call was the Arena. Based on the American design, the Arena will host a 10,000 seated capacity and 22 VIP Hospitality boxes. It is also highly adaptable, capable of hosting many different sporting events and concerts of varying size. The area is a jungle of scaffolding, workmen and cranes but it’s obvious that things have progressed just as quickly on the interior of the building as it has on the outside shell. The speed of the work since October 2005 has been break-neck and it is hugely encouraging to see such tangible progress being made.

The convention centre is arguably the most ingenious aspect of the building. As well as a Multi-purpose hall on the ground floor, the main conference auditorium can host 1350 delegates. With the use of twin ‘revolving drums’, each capable of hosting 250 delegates in a more intimate self-contained auditorium, the main facility capacity can be reduced to 850 depending on the space required. Standing on the main stage is rather intimidating even now when the audience comprises a few builders and a tonne of steel rather than 1300 people watching you like a hawk!

As the photos surely testify, the scale of the ACC is massive and it will surely live up to the potential of becoming “the jewel in Liverpool’s crown”. Finally Liverpool will have a world class Arena capable of hosting world class events, conferences and exhibitions and it will provide a perfect context to show off our city to the world. The Chamber congratulates ACC Chief Executive Bob Prattey and his team for the great work done so far.

Roll on January ‘08!

If you would like further information on the Arena and Convention Centre contact 0151 475 8888 or email info@accliverpool.com

More pics of the visit at our Flickr page. 

Stats on the Arena after the jump.

Key Facts

. Adaptable Arena with 10,000 seated capacity and 22 Hospitality Boxes
. State of the art multi-purpose auditorium capable of hosting 1,350 people
. Divisible into separate auditoria of 250, 250 and 850
. 18 separate break-out rooms enveloping the main auditorium for 30-500 delegates
. A multi-purpose hall perfect for banqueting events and sub-dividable to create sound-proof seminar rooms
. Food catered by Heathcotes
. Two attached hotels: 310 bedroom Jury’s Inn & Staybridge serviced suites
. 1600 capacity Multi-story car-park