Echo Arena
LIVERPOOL’S new waterfront Arena and convention centre is pumping £3m a week into the city’s economy, the Daily Post can reveal.
The Echo Arena Liverpool and BT Convention Centre has had 300,000 visitors since it opened to great acclaim in January.
Based on the volume of business for ACC Liverpool and the number of events currently on the venue’s books, it will inject £160m into Liverpool’s economy in its first financial year – equivalent to around £3m a week.
ACC Liverpool finance director Gerald Andrews said: “It is an incredible performance and is testament not just to the excellence of the facility but also the team here which is working so hard to deliver business.”
The encouraging performance come as new figures suggest that Liverpool’s Church Street shopping area is continuing to perform well, despite the opening of Liverpool One.
It had been feared that Church Street could suffer significant fall-out if shoppers moved their allegiances to the new development but the reverse appears to be the case.
Marks and Spencer, perhaps the most significant retailer on Church Street, is said to have seen an upturn in daily business of between 25% and 65% since the opening of Liverpool One in May.
The Metquarter has also seen a 20% growth in its footfall and a 13% rise in like for like sales in the first six months of the year.
The central Business Improvement District organisation said June’s footfall figures for the city’s traditional retail heart are showing a year-on-year improvement of 15%.
Last night, the positive economic news was hailed as the pay-off from the investments in the city and the result of more people coming to Liverpool because of events like the recent Tall Ships races and the Open at Royal Birkdale.
Council leader Warren Bradley said: “It goes to show what a different place Liverpool is now.
“Not only do people want to invest here, but people also want to visit our city.
“We always said the most important thing is bringing economic stability to the city, and that’s what we are achieving.”
He said Marks and Spencer’s worst day of trading since Liver-pool One opened was up by 25% on previous results, while its best day represented a 65% improvement.
Last night, Marks and Spencer said it could not confirm the fig-ures as it was unable to comment on individual store performance.
Metquarter head of marketing Jennina O’Neill said: “It’s a sign that Liverpool city centre is being revitalised thanks not just to Liverpool One but also to the massive improvements we have seen over the last 18 months.
“Metquarter is now virtually fully let, and we have stores taking additional floor space.
“We’re also opening earlier, at 9.30am, which is a direct result of customer demand.
“More and more people, both locals and visitors, are choosing to spend their leisure time in the city centre, which is superb news for all businesses in the city.”
Rita Waters, chief executive of Central Improvement District, said: “These figures show that Liverpool City Centre is thriving and Liverpool One has undoubtedly improved the overall retail offer for shoppers.”
Ed Oliver, chairman of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “We have had some great events in the last week and the city is very busy.
“There are more people visiting the city. What we are looking to happen is for people to come to Liverpool to see how it has changed and return in future.”
He said the hundreds of thousands of people using ACC Liverpool help “bring the place alive”. There is now much more to offer people, and the increase in the retail offer is also of benefit.”
He said the result of more people in the city was increased spending in shops, restaurants and bars.
