The Red Dragon Centre is an indoor entertainment complex in southern

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, the capital of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It was originally known as the Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village when it opened in August 1997. The complex features restaurants, cafés, a Hollywood Bowl bowling alley with arcade amusements, an Odeon multiplex cinema, a casino and an on-site car park. It is located in the Cardiff Bay area, opposite the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

. This is close to the A4232 and near Cardiff Bay railway station. It is directly served by

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies to ...

routes 6 (''

Baycar Baycar (also styled as baycar) is a bus service in Cardiff, serving the city centre and Cardiff Bay. The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus network, but is unique in that the entire Baycar bus system includes its own branded vehicle ...

'') and 8 (via Grangetown, Central Station) to the city centre.

History

The centre opened in 1997 as the Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village. The centre was renamed in 2000 as Red Dragon Centre (named after the commercial radio station for Cardiff and Newport, Red Dragon Fm) Red Dragon Fm has since been rebranded as Capital FM South Wales. The station is based in the centre, alongside Heart South Wales. The multiplex cinema was originally managed by United Cinemas International (UCI). However, in 2004 Odeon and UCI were bought by private equity firm, Terra Firma, and the two companies were merged under the Odeon name. In 2020, the British Airways Pension Fund sold the Red Dragon Centre to

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

for a reported £60m.

Future plans

In November 2018, it was reported that a 15,000-seat indoor arena would be built on the site. The Atlantic Wharf site was chosen over six other sites, including

Callaghan Square Callaghan Square ( cy, Sgwâr Callaghan) is a large public plaza in Cardiff, Wales, previously known as Bute Square. It was developed as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme to link central Cardiff with Cardiff Bay. History Card ...

near Cardiff Central railway station, the 5,000-seat

Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and later, for sponsorship reasons, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena located in Cardiff, Wales, and was ope ...

, with an arena suggested as part of a £150m redevelopment of

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

. The current Red Dragon Centre could be demolished and replaced by a new leisure complex, or receive a partial redevelopment on the existing site. If demolished, tenants would migrate over to the new property while the remaining parts of the project are built. A planning application was expected to be submitted in July 2019. On 17 December 2019, it was announced that

's cabinet had been granted permission for the local authority to purchase the Red Dragon Centre from the British Airways Pension Fund (BAPF) for an undisclosed sum. An element of the purchase price will only be payable to the pension fund when a planning application is submitted for the new Arena project on any part of the Atlantic Wharf site (the combined County Hall and Red Dragon Centre site) within a 10 year period. The council aims to appoint a development partner and operator for the new arena by April 2020 and aim for a detailed planning application to be submitted by the selected developer before September 2020. Construction work is projected to begin in May 2021 and the arena could be opened in June 2023. The new arena will be based on the

Ziggo Dome The Ziggo Dome ( or ) is an indoor arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands, located next to the Johan Cruijff ArenA. It is named after the Dutch cable TV provider Ziggo. In 2014, the Ziggo Dome Awards were announced, recognizing artists who performed at ...

in Amsterdam. Live Nation UK, the operator of the city's Motorpoint Arena, has approached the council with a view to operating the new venue if it is built. On 27 November 2020, Live Nation and builders Robertson Group were announced as the winning bidders to operate and construct the venue. Entertainment investors

Oak View Group OVG Oak View Group, LLC is an American Global Advisory, Development and Investment Company for Sports and Live Entertainment industries. Based in Los Angeles, it was formed on November 16, 2015 by Tim Leiweke and his business partner, Irving Azof ...

are also part of the consortium. Further plans, that could form part of a £500m regeneration scheme, include waterfront apartments, bars and restaurants, a cinema complex and a hotel.

Centre tenants

Current tenants include: *

Grosvenor Casinos Established in 1970, Grosvenor Casinos (formerly County Clubs and Grosvenor Clubs) is a UK-based chain of 53 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK, with two unbranded sister casinos located in Belgium. Grosvenor Casinos is own ...

Bella Italia Bella Italia (formerly known as Bella Pasta) is a chain of over 90 restaurants offering meals inspired by Italian cuisine in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The chain is part of The Big Table Group, which also owns Café Rouge and Las Iguanas ...

* Cadwaladers Coffee House * Hollywood Bowl *

Five Guys Five Guys Enterprises LLC (doing business as both Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and simply Five Guys) is an American fast food restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries, and headquartered in Lorton, Virginia, part of ...

* Odeon * Capital FM South Wales * Heart South Wales *

Travelodge Travelodge (formerly TraveLodge) refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and several countries in Asia. However, ma ...

References

External links

* {{Economy and Industry of Cardiff Economy of Cardiff Tourist attractions in Cardiff Culture in Cardiff Buildings and structures in Cardiff Entertainment venues in Wales Buildings and structures completed in 1997 1997 establishments in Wales

History

Future plans

Centre tenants

See also

References

External links