The first views of the inside of Liverpool’s new arena and convention centre have been revealed. The development, called Kings Waterfront, will be open to host Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008. The arena can stage concerts and sporting events including tennis, boxing and ice shows. The development is designed to fulfill a number of roles and includes a 10,000 capacity arena, a 1,350 capacity auditorium, and 7000 sq metres of exhibition space with a large multi purpose hall. A focal point “This is going to be one of the most stunning arenas in Europe,” says Chief Executive Bob Prattie. “Externally the architectural treatment is absolutely fantastic we’re working now with four hundred people on site to turn the inside to mirror that image from outside.” Kings Waterfront is built on the site of Kings Dock. The dock was part of Liverpool’s south docks system and closed in 1972.
 | | Inside the arena |
The area was reclaimed in the 1980’s by the Merseyside Development Corporation and has been used mainly as a car park and more recently as the site for the Summer Pops. Bovis Construction Manager Peter Roberts says the complex has been designed to sit alongside other waterfront buildings, “You only have to look at how the form has been designed to relate to its location, to its surrounding buildings, and equally to respect the skyline. “So one of the constraints that was imposed upon the design team was that when you take the world famous view from Birkenhead across to the Liverpool skyline…you will find that the building doesn’t impose upon that skyline but it sits very nicely as part of a focal point of the overall vista that you get on the Merseyside waterfront.” | 
