Celtic Manor Resort confirmed plans for a new International Convention Centre — the largest facility of its kind in Wales, which would attract leading conferences from around the world.
The new conference center secured outline planning permission from Newport City Council, and Celtic Manor was able to show the next stage of planning to event industry leaders at the Meetings Show in London. These images show how the new center may look when it is constructed on the resort site, with a scheduled opening date of summer 2018.
“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,” said Ian Edwards, chief operating officer, Celtic Manor Resort.
“From the reaction, it is clear that they share our excitement about this new conference center, 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,” he added.
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 southwest England.
With a total capacity in excess of 20,000 square meters, 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 meters and be able to accommodate up to 2,000 guests for a gala dinner.
An additional 15 meeting rooms will cater for all sizes and types of meetings and events, and complement the existing convention center 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 center will also provide fully integrated audio visual facilities, green rooms and production offices, and a multi-storey car park with 1,500 spaces. An exceptional delegate experience will include a reception atrium, open spaces for networking, full disabled access and an outdoor plaza and terraces.
Celtic Manor will host the NATO Summit in September and is no stranger to hosting major international events, having staged the Ryder Cup in 2010 and the EU Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2005.
The new Wales International Convention Centre will help secure more major events, including showpiece conferences for large, international associations and multinational, blue chip companies as well as political party conferences.
