The long-awaited opening of Bradford Live will take place this weekend – and businesses are hoping it brings a boost in trade.
The £50m venue hosts its official opening this weekend, with Bill Bailey performing on the Saturday and the Prat Pack on the Sunday.
On Thursday evening thousands flocked to the venue for Bradford Live at Last – Bradford’s Big Bash.
Image: LDRS
The opening comes after years of delays, spiralling costs and questions over whether the venue would open in time for Bradford’s year as City of Culture.
Now bars, restaurants and cafes are getting ready to welcome an influx of visitors to the city.
And one says the imminent opening of the venue played a major part in their decision to open a new store in the city.
Drive-thru smoothie business Berries opened its flagship store at the bottom of Manchester Road earlier this summer.
Raza Zulfiqar, marketing director, said, “Knowing Bradford Live was opening and bringing in so many people to Bradford was a massive part of our decision to invest on Manchester Road, so people can drop in before and after the show for one of our famous premium shakes.
“As a drive-in that’s also only a few minutes walk away, we’re super accessible and it’s a totally different offer to so much of the rest of the city.”
Asghar Ali, founder and CEO of MyLahore, just yards from the venue, said, “Bradford Live is such a boost for Bradford and we’re so excited to introduce a new generation of visitors to the MyLahore concept.”
It is hoped that the opening of Bradford Live will give a boost to established parts of Bradford’s evening economy as well as grow new ones.
James Brunskill, Landlord of The Boar & Fable on North Parade, said: “North Parade has been one of Bradford’s go-to destinations for quality real ale and craft beer for a few years now.
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“We’ve seen a benefit from having The Loading Bay open around the corner as part of Bradford being UK City of Culture. With the capacity of Bradford Live being so much larger we’re hoping it will have an even bigger impact on our part of the city centre.”
Even other city centre venues are expecting a positive knock-on effect from Bradford Live. Keith Tempest, owner of the Nightrain rock club in the city centre, said, “We’re chuffed Bradford Live will be bringing bigger bands to Bradford and hope people come along after to check out our DJ sets. We’ve got a gig on Saturday and everyone going to see Bill Bailey is welcome to join us for free from 10:30pm and enjoy a night of quality rock music with DJ Bacon.”
Darren Moore, Venue Director at Bradford Live, has welcomed the city’s response to the venue opening, “We are incredibly excited to finally open our doors and welcome audiences to Bradford Live. It’s brilliant to see the whole city coming together to support the opening and create a special night for everyone who visits.”
