Following a number of delays, work is projected to start in 2025 and is expected to be undertaken in four phases over multiple years: the first being the construction of the new arena, WMC's digital and "immersive" arts theatre, a replacement hotel and multi-storey car park followed by the relocation of the Red Dragon Centre's tenants into a new complex.

[5] In 2013, County Hall was first suggested as a potential future site for an indoor arena and convention centre;[6] a decade later its car park would be confirmed as the exact location.

[4] On 17 December 2019, it was announced that Cardiff Council's cabinet had been granted permission for the local authority to purchase the Red Dragon Centre from the British Airways Pension Fund (BAPF) for an undisclosed sum.

An element of the purchase price will only be payable to the pension fund when a planning application is submitted for the new arena project on any part of the 30 acres (12 ha) Atlantic Wharf site (the combined County Hall on Schooner Way and Red Dragon Centre on Hemingway Road) within a 10-year period.

[15] Live Nation subsequently agreed to make a £100m financial contribution towards the project to cover increased costs and would commit to a future long-term lease of the venue.

Once the new arena is operational, the CIA is then expected to be closed by Live Nation and could be demolished, along with the adjoining surface car parks and buildings owned by Rapport, to provide space for a new commercial development integrated into Churchill Way's Canal Quarter.

[16] In October 2023, it was revealed that the arena's dimensions and exterior design had been significantly revised by Populous as part of wider alterations to the project due to rising material costs; the seating bowl capacity was reduced from 17,000 (that was initially approved by the council in March 2022[17]) to a more flexible 15,358, with the opening date now pushed back until 2026.

[16] In October, it was reported that McLaren Construction Group were now favourite to win the contract to build the arena as the remaining rival bidder Vinci SA was no longer thought to be in the running.