AEG to Turn Millennium Dome Into Sports, Entertainment Site
The developer of Staples Center has been selected to transform the much-maligned Millennium Dome in London into a $200-million sport and entertainment venue.
Los Angeles-based AEG, controlled by billionaire Philip Anschutz, is part of a multinational group granted a long-term lease on the dome and surrounding property by the British government. AEG said it has entered into exclusive negotiations to finance, develop and manage a 20,000-seat arena inside the dome.
The agreement is part of a partnership AEG has entered into with Meridian Delta Ltd. to fully develop the 28-acre site and about 15 acres of adjacent property located along the Thames River.
The dome will anchor Meridian Delta’s 180-acre project of homes, offices, shops and other facilities that is projected to cost $4 billion and take 20 years to complete. British Local Governments Secretary Stephen Byers said the venture would provide at least 5,000 new homes and about 20,000 jobs.
Meridian Delta, composed of London-based Quintain Estates Ltd. and Australian-owned Lend Lease Europe Ltd., said the dome would become the “Madison Square Garden of Europe.”
“We will deliver a world-class 20,000-seat arena in the Millennium Dome and create a vibrant and successful new community for London,” Meridian Delta spokesman David Hutton said.
The dome was supposed to be the centerpiece of Britain’s millennium celebrations, but instead it became a flop, attracting only half its projected number of visitors. The government was forced to pump in $265 million to keep the attraction afloat until its scheduled year-end closing.
AEG, which owns or operates several entertainment and sports facilities, said the fully enclosed arena within the dome would fill a vital gap in London’s venue market.
In addition to Staples Center, AEG owns or is involved in the operations of the Forum in Inglewood, the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and the London Arena.
