Coventry Building Society Arena targets global live music growth
Coventry Building Society Arena has its sights on global live music growth following a record-breaking run of show announcements.
The venue, which also operates as Coventry Building Society Stadium, is aiming to attract more big names after re-establishing itself as one of the UK’s most exciting and adaptable spaces for live music and entertainment.
Last year the Arena launched CBS Live, its dedicated live events platform to unite music and entertainment under one identity, and has seen a strong resurgence in music events since its introduction.
Its new approach is attracting more promoters, agents and artists to consider the venue for tours and one-off performances - with Bryan Adams, Sean Paul and Tom Grennan recently performing sell-out shows in the Indoor Arena.
The venue has also sealed deals to bring major global stars to its 10,000 capacity Indoor Arena, with Bob Dylan set to bring his latest tour to the Arena in November and Ed Sheeran performing an intimate show in December.
Coventry Building Society Arena is one of only two venues in the UK for Sheeran’s run of Arena shows.
The series of high-profile announcements culminated in the return of outdoor stadium bowl concerts to the venue, with Take That performing three back-to-back nights in June 2026.
It will mark the return of major stadium performances for the first time since it hosted Harry Styles and Arctic Monkeys in 2023, with other artists to have performed stadium shows over the course of its 20 year history including the Rolling Stones, Oasis, Spice Girls, The Killers, Rammstein, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, P!NK and many more.
Alongside a busy calendar of blockbuster live music, the Arena has also been developing a schedule of smaller music events and live comedy, with comedian Paul Smith performing four shows in the past year.
The Arena offers the rare combination of four entertainment venues under one roof, including the 40,500 live music capacity stadium bowl, 10,000 capacity indoor arena, 2,000 capacity hall and 650-seat auditorium.
This allows it to host large-scale stadium productions, more intimate arena concerts, and even tour rehearsals or live-streamed events.
Chris Owen, Head of Venue Operations
Chris Owen, Head of Venue Operations at Coventry Building Society Arena, said the venue has been working to build trusted relationships with promoters and is hoping to continue to attract major names to perform.
“It’s been a really strong period for the Arena. It’s the result of a lot of hard work from the team, investment and working to a clear strategy that positions the venue as a trusted partner for artists and promoters,” he said.
“It’s a competitive market and every show we host has to make financial sense for both sides, so we have worked to get our cost base right, improve operational efficiency and ensure we are offering added value to events.
“For us it has been about finding our niche and what we can offer differently to other competitors in the market. We have focused on our flexibility and building a team that goes the extra mile at every stage.
“We are also seeing new opportunities as a rehearsal space or a for album launch shows, and that is a market we are continuing to develop in.”
Behind the scenes, Coventry Building Society Arena has been investing significantly in its teams to improve operational expertise in delivering live entertainment events.
This has included training for staff in globally recognised health and safety qualifications from the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH), Showstop Procedure crowd safety training, and Level 5 Crowd Safety Management courses.
The Arena has also streamlined processes and reduced turnaround times to transform its events spaces from conference and exhibition use into venues for live events.
Chris added: “Our aim is to make the experience as easy as we can for promoters. We have 20 years of experience behind us to do that, when you look at some of the names that have played here over the last two decades there aren’t many venues in the world with that back catalogue.
“For stadium shows we are working on giving every event a festival feel, with promoters able to utilise spaces throughout the venue to make the experience even more special for fans.
“We’re hoping to continue to attract big names to the venue and build our live music offering, which not only benefits us but also gives a major boost to the wider visitor economy here in Coventry.”