What contribution does the Odyssey Arena make to the Northern Ireland economy?
The last economic impact study was done just before our 5th birthday. It showed that the total estimated off site visitor impact was approximately £94.3m to Belfast and approximately £98.9m to Northern Ireland. As we have shown considerable growth since 2005, the pro rata annual figure will now be considerably higher. In addition, the operation of the Arena supports 142 full-time direct jobs and many others indirect and part-time. A quarter (24%) of our customers are from Belfast, 68% from the rest of Northern Ireland and 8% outside of Northern Ireland. You are no stranger to hard times having taken over the running of the London Arena when it went into receivership and overseeing its sale. Have those skills helped in the current economic downturn? There is no doubt that I learned a lot during that time in terms of controlling costs and efficiencies and I have used these skills ever since, not just in times of economic strife. However it was the period following the sale when I learnt
