Wolverhampton's new-look Halls nets £1.6m during reopening season
The opening season of live entertainment at newly refurbished The Halls in Wolverhampton is estimated to have boosted the city’s local economy by £1.6 million, with more than 50,000 people visiting the venue so far.
Britpop stars Blur marked the official reopening of the iconic venue with a sell-out show in May and a further 25 acts performed between May 26 and July 13.
At a meeting of the city’s full council this week, Councillor Jacqueline Sweetman asked for clarification on the impact the reopening of the new 3,404 capacity Civic and 1,289 capacity Wulfrun had had on footfall to the city and its local economy.
She said: “The Halls has received a ringing endorsement from Blur’s agent and customers. Legendary magicians Penn and Teller and music stars The Script, James Bay and The Vamps are just some of the performers who have so far attracted thousands of visitors to the city centre venue. I would be interested in hearing about how much impact this has had on the local economy.”
The council’s cabinet member for visitor city, Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, told members: “I am happy to say that the reopening of The Halls has been incredibly successful. Figures from AEG show that 10,000 Wulfrunians were among the 50,000 revellers who have enjoyed the fantastic shows pumping £1.6 million into the local economy during the opening season alone.
“Our vision for The Halls is to boost the local economy, bring live music back to our residents and get the city buzzing again. It’s fantastic to see this is already happening after just one month. The Halls has already been a venue that attracts both local music fans and those from across the country, so we are very proud that this tradition is continuing.
“Recent figures are the same as those from 2011 before the refurbishment of the venue and show that 20 per cent of sales come from WV postcodes, 60 per cent from the wider region and 20 per cent from other UK destinations. I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of the reopening.
“There are already almost 50 fantastic events lined up at The Halls from September to December, including our very own music legend Robert Plant – and there’s plenty more to come. This again will bring tens of thousands of visitors to our city and further boost the local economy by millions of pounds,” he added.
Wolverhampton local Steve Homer, CEO at AEG Presents UK, which operates the venue, said: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the way the opening weeks went at The Halls. The response from the music industry has been incredibly positive and we were delighted to welcome over 50,000 people through the doors in the first month.
“Seeing the local businesses thriving in the hours leading up to the shows has been a great sight to behold – the calendar for the autumn and beyond is looking strong so we are starting as we mean to go on. As well as hosting leading music and entertainment performers, The Halls Wolverhampton is also staging business events and conferences.”
Extensive public realm improvement works have also been completed on Victoria Street and North Street as part of a £22 million package of investment in the west of the city centre. Further improvement works to come in the west of the city centre include the development of a new Box Space entertainment and events venue, set to open just off Victoria Street in 2024.
