The first artist impression of the Wales International Convention Centre at Celtic Manor Resort has been released, which will cost £40m-£60m and is scheduled to open in 2018.
Designed to attract major events from across the world, the state-of-the-art auditorium, exhibition hall and associated facilities will have capacity for around 4,000 delegates, making it the largest facility of its kind in Wales and the south west of England.
With a total capacity in excess of 20,000 sq m, the main auditorium will hold 1,300 delegates with the flexibility to divide into smaller spaces.
A separate main exhibition hall will stretch to 4,000 square metres and be able to accommodate up to 2,000 guests for a gala dinner.
It will aim to bring conventions and conferences from around the world, including the staging of major party political conferences in the UK
A further 15 meeting rooms will cater for all sizes and types of meetings and events, and complement the existing convention centre facilities at Celtic Manor, which have already made it the Best UK Hotel at the Meetings and Incentive Travel Awards for the past four years running.
The new conference centre will also provide fully intergrated audio visual facilities, green rooms and production offices, and a multi-storey car park with 1,500 spaces.
Celtic Manor Resort's chief operating officer, Ian Edwards, said, “We are delighted that the new Wales International Convention Centre has secured outline planning permission from Newport City Council, allowing us to show the industry leaders gathered here at the Meetings Show the next stage in our planning.
“From the reaction, it is clear that they share our excitement about this new conference centre which will be a flagship development not only for Celtic Manor, but for Wales as a whole. It will bring enormous economic benefits to the cities of Newport and Cardiff, and the wider surrounding region.”