Edinburgh is the last European capital and major UK city without a large capacity, purpose-built indoor arena.

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, the heart of an economically powerful region, and home to 513,000 people. Approximately 2.8 million people reside within a 60-minute drive of the city and it is the only major European capital currently without a purpose-built indoor arena.

The city is the UK’s most visited outside London. It is home to the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish legal system, and is the UK’s second largest centre for financial and pharmaceutical businesses.

In 2016, there were 15.6 million visitor nights in the Edinburgh and Lothian region, bringing £1.5 billion in expenditure. The world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe alone brings in the region of 3 million visitors, powering an associated festival economy currently valued at £313 million and rising.

The city boasts more FTSE 100 companies than any UK city outside London. With a number of high-performing sectors, from tech to financial services, Edinburgh is the 27th most popular conference destination in the world.

The city is home to a student population of 150,000 across no fewer than six universities and other colleges, benefiting from excellent talent retention. Nearly 50% of Edinburgh’s workforce is employed in high value ‘knowledge’ jobs and over 44% of its working population holds a degree or equivalent qualification.

Edinburgh to London by train is a four-hour journey and there are direct connections to 157 destinations served by 38 airlines flying from Edinburgh International Airport. With Michelin-starred restaurants rivalling many of its UK counterparts, Edinburgh has also been voted Favourite UK City by Conde Nast readers.

And all of this without a purpose-built indoor arena for live events…

Edinburgh's largest indoor music venue (02 Academy) has a capacity of 3,000, which rules out arena size bands. The Royal Highland Centre, Highland Hall at Ingliston holds 10,500 but is very rarely used for concerts, for some unknown reason.

In addition, concert promoters choose Glasgow over Edinburgh about 98% of the time, even for non arena size bands. 

As a result, Edinburgh is almost always ignored by touring rock and pop bands, cities like Glasgow, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester, London etc. are always on these band's touring schedules. Glasgow may be only 46.6 miles away, but it is NOT convenient to have to travel there by car. The last train to back to Edinburgh is around 23:30-23:45 and with most shows finishing around 23:00, this means worrying about missing the train and possibly having to leave before the end of the show. It would be great to see an arena (capacity 8,000-13,000) built in or near Edinburgh, instead of yet more student flats and hotels.

A purpose built venue would reduce car emissions as I wouldn't be surprised if about a quarter of Glasgow audiences commute from Edinburgh areas.

Going to concerts is great but tickets can be very expensive e.g. £180 for Genesis at Glasgow Hydro recently! The additional expense and hassle of travelling to other cities is something that Edinburgh music lovers should not have to put up with any longer.