McAlpine confirmed for £260m Gateshead arena

Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed main contractor for the construction of a £260m arena, conference and exhibition centre in Gateshead.The 80,000 sq ft development is to be built on Gateshead Quayside, directly in front of the city’s Millennium Bridge and between the existing Sage Gateshead building and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.It will include a 12,500 capacity event venue, two hotels, bars, restaurants, car parking and extensive areas of public realm.Sir Robert McAlpine’s client is Ask:Patrizia, an Anglo-German joint venture of Ask Real Estate and Patrizia AG, which is Gateshead Council’s development partner for the quayside.HOK is architect for the new arena, while AHR Architects is designing the overall masterplan for the site. The project team also includes: Legends as project manager and contract administrator; Gardiner & Theobald as quantity surveyor; Arup as consulting engineer; and Vectos for transport planning.A full planning application is expected to be submitted early 2020, paving the way for the new complex to open in 2023.