[7] The site, which has become known as 'Arena Island', is to the south and across the River Avon from the station, and lies within Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.

The arena, to be built next to Bristol's largest railway station Temple Meads, was planned to have 10,000 seats and host music concerts as well as sports and conferences, and was intended to open by 2008 to coincide with the city's bid to be the European Capital of Culture.

[14] A number of legal challenges[15] to Bristol City's proposed stadium caused the council to reconsider plans for an arena on the originally preferred site next to Temple Meads in 2012.

[16] With the opening of the First Direct Arena in Leeds in the summer of 2013, Bristol became the largest city in the United Kingdom without a large arena-style venue.

[citation needed] The site, which used to be the location of the Bristol Bath Road depot,[8] was owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

[21] Once elected mayor, Ferguson launched a competition to find the best design for a 12,000-seat arena that would be "the most environmentally-friendly venue of its kind" and pledged that the project would be up and running within four years.

Public concern over parking and transport around the proposals had not been properly addressed and the committee were not confident in the detail submitted for approval.

[7] Three months later, it was announced that Buckingham Group, who had initially been the second preferred bidder, would carry out preliminary work on the site while negotiating a final price.

[34] In November 2017, the Bristol Post revealed plans to construct the arena within the Brabazon Hangar at the former Filton Airfield on the edge of the city's boundary, in Southmead ward.

[35] In September 2018, Mayor Marvin Rees scrapped the arena plans in favour of a mixed use development, leaving the Brabazon Hangar as the only option.

[36] Criticism of the Temple Quarter arena plans had often been aimed at the low number of dedicated car parking spaces on site.

"[40] In February 2016, Bristol City Council denied it had performed a u-turn after it emerged an eight-storey, 480 space car park was to be considered for the site.

[41] The owner of the former Bristol Filton Airport, YTL Corporation, announced plans in early 2019 for a 17,000 seat indoor arena in the former Brabazon hangar, in partnership with Avison Young, Grimshaw and MANICA Architecture.

[50] In May 2024, plans were submitted to Bristol City Council for an outdoor cinema, which would be replaced in the winter by an ice rink, in addition to courts, for badminton and tennis, a multi-use games area for sports such as basketball and five-a-side football, and a pump track for cycling.