he man in charge of the new £40 million SkyDome Coventry entertainment complex has
warned local businesses to expect a boom in trade.
Trevor Ellard,
who is the general manager of the Rank Entertainment development in the city centre, is
confident Coventry and Warwickshire firms will reap a financial benefit when it opens in
October.
SkyDome Coventry, complete with a nine-screen cinema, two nightclubs, a live
entertainment bar, café-bar and a 4,000-seat arena, is creating 485 new jobs but already
local firms have profited from its arrival and more are set to follow suit.
Rank has employed local design, print, public relations and security firms in the lead
up to the launch.
Ellard said:
"We estimate that the weekly footfall will be in the region of 25,000 which will
mean a large increase of people using the Spon Street area of the city. The local shops,
pubs and restaurants will profit greatly from that increased custom.
"We are talking about the single largest development in the city centre for over
40 years so the spin-offs are bound to be big. Many of our customers will take public
transport or taxis to and from the city which will profit local companies and a large
proportion will walk to the site, passing local shops and pubs as they go.
"The council is investing heavily to upgrade Spon Street. A corner of the city
centre, which has possibly been off the beaten track for many people, will become the
entertainment quarter."
The first people to benefit will be those who rang the free-phone recruitment line,
which is advertised on a massive banner hung from the building.
The Employment Service was forced to keep lines open over the first weekend to meet
demand.
Trevor Ellard, who comes from Leamington but has run a Rank entertainment complex in
Swansea for the last eight years, is delighted local people have responded so positively
to SkyDome Coventry.
"I think everyone is excited at the prospect of SkyDome opening – but I can
assure them that it will easily pass their expectations.
"This is very much a Coventry and Warwickshire development and we want it staffed
by local people. We are pleased with the response to the recruitment drive and have worked
closely with the Employment Service.
"A large variety of jobs are available and I would urge anyone interested to
contact the hotline as soon as possible."
