Mike Fletcher sits down with Paul Michael, the MD of Coventry Building Society Arena to hear how the venue has flourished since coming under new ownership and what lies ahead.
Paul Michael, managing director of Coventry Building Society (CBS) Arena is in a reflective mood.
It’s been over a year since Frasers Group bought the Midlands-based venue.
The new owner first helped instil a period of stabilisation before investing £4m in improvements and is now firmly behind a five-year sustainable growth plan, which includes the launch of a new live events proposition, CBS Live.
“To steady the ship we had to make sure that relationships with our key partners and staff were retained and strengthened,” Michael says. “That included our naming rights partner Coventry Building Society, as well as Coventry City Football Club, Coventry City Council, Hilton Hotels and all our commercial tenants. Despite experiencing the lows of administration, we haven’t lost a single member of staff. I’m exceptionally proud that we’ve managed to retain all of our expertise and they are now thriving to the next level.”
Fraser Group’s purchase of CBS Arena allowed Michael and his team to place every part of the business under the microscope and to identify where improvements were needed.
“Some of those changes have been short-term, while others, such as the full refurbishment of our onsite Doubletree by Hilton hotel, are built into our longer-term growth strategy,” he continues. “We’re passionate that sustainability, for example, should be seen and demonstrated across all areas of our business and this has provided us with a real opportunity to do that.
“We’ve even created a department and a team to lead on this. We’ve formed partnerships with Skoot, Trace by Ilsa, and Go Green, plus we’ve introduced recyclable packaging for catering and installed LED lighting throughout. By 2025, we’re committed to ensuring over half of our supply chain will be local businesses.”
CBS Arena is working with organisers to create carbon-conscious meetings and conferences and has introduced a ‘green’ day delegate rate to help. This allows event organisers to have an immediate positive impact on the environment, with the green rate meaning that for every attendee a tree is planted and two pieces of plastic are removed from the ocean, for just 50p per delegate.
During the pandemic years, an investment of £7.5m saw the creation of a convention centre with three halls, the largest of which can seat 1,000 delegates theatre-style with adjacent break-out rooms.
Over the past year, improvements have been carried out to other parts of the venue, including upgrades to its pillar-free exhibition hall and meeting rooms, investment in digital wayfinding and signage and the opening of a 300-capacity Dhillon’s Lounge, which will be used for concerts and matchdays, and is bookable for other events throughout the year.
“We have been working with Dhillon’s Brewery over the last year and it’s another partnership with a local business that continues to flourish,” Michael says. “The Dhillon’s Lounge looks fantastic and will be a real asset to the venue, be that on matchdays for hundreds of fans, or for conference and exhibition organisers looking for a versatile space to host events.”
Additionally, CBS Arena has brought its catering arm in-house to provide more control over sustainability factors such as sourcing and menu design. It has also rebranded 28 retail kiosks throughout the stadium concourse and signed a new partnership with Budweiser Brewing Group.
A new ANPR car park system has also been introduced, upgrading the 2,200 onsite car park spaces to make parking at the Arena a seamless experience.
“We have further introduced new CCTV and signage to make our visitors feel safer,” Michael continues. “Plus, we’ve modernised our 24-hour security control and matchday operations control room, with this focus on safety and security readying the venue for the introduction of Martyn’s Law.
“There are changes that people might not see too, particularly with our infrastructure, with upgrades to our fibre broadband, which will benefit our conference and exhibition organisers, and upgraded IT security systems.”
The positive impact from 12 months of hard work has seen Michael and his team receive over £1m in new business enquiries (up 5% on last year).
CBS Arena hosted 592 conferences, exhibitions, meetings, dinners and award events in 2023, which included more than 110 exhibitions and large conferences.
Over 20,000 more delegates attended conferences and events staged at the Arena, while the number of award ceremonies and dinners grew by 34%.
CBS Arena is at the heart of the community and tourism sector in Coventry and has benefited significantly from the enhanced profile brought by being the UK City of Culture 2021 and hosting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Coventry’s reputation as a destination for conferences and business events has grown significantly in recent years, aided by being a leading player in key industries such as automotive, green technology, advanced engineering and video games.
This has seen the arena itself host key national conferences in these sectors, particularly in engineering and green innovation.
When asked what else the future holds for CBS Arena, Michael smiles as he reveals the brand refresh, which will officially launch at this month’s International Confex and the PA Show.
“Our new slogan is ‘The best times are here’ which connects everything beautifully together,” he concludes with pride. “Whether you’re attending the best meetings, exhibitions or conferences, football, music or live performances, you’ll be guaranteed the best time and experience the best service. It has been a fantastic 12 months. Now it’s about how we build on that and ensure the long-term success of Coventry Building Society Arena.”
CBS Arena, Coventry
- Central location with 2,200 onsite parking spaces
- Easy access via rail
- Highly experienced events team
- 20,000 sqm of flexible event space
- Onsite hotel with 121 rooms
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