Comprehensive plans for a multimillion pound Olympic skating arena can be revealed today for the first time.

Designs for the seafront palace of wood and glass, first reported by The Argus more than two years ago, are about to be presented to councillors.

But The Argus can give a sneak preview of the extent of the impressive proposals to transform the derelict seafront site at Black Rock, Brighton, which is being backed by Olympic skating champions Robin Cousins and Jayne Torvill.

Celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson has already expressed interest in a signature restaurant in the complex.

Business leaders say the plans would be a major boost to the Sussex economy but there are fears the arena would generate so much extra traffic that the city could not cope.

Millions of visitors are expected to be attracted to the new arena including skaters from across Sussex and the UK and tourists, concert-goers and sports fans.

The complex, Brighton International Arena, would include two Olympic-sized ice rinks and an 11,000-capacity concert hall.

The proposals released today show how the contemporary £70 million arena would also house a 100-seat cinema, flats, a museum, a recording studio, a dance studio, plus bars, shops and restaurants.

It is expected to bring 126 permanent jobs to the region and 250 part-time jobs once the arena is up and running.

A further 391 people will be employed at the peak of the two-year construction with 152 extra staff to provide construction services.

More than two million visitors a year are expected to visit the site on Madeira Drive which backers say would be a national centre of excellence for ice skating in the UK.

A quarter of a million of the visitors are expected to use the ice rinks.

The main arena would be a competition ice rink, with fixed seating for about 7,500 spectators and which could also be converted into an 11,000-capacity hall for concerts and live shows.

This area would also be used for sports including ice hockey, skating, basketball, boxing, gymnastics and tennis, plus a conference and exhibition venue to rival any of the biggest facilities in Sussex.

A second ice rink would be used for public skating sessions, figure skating, hockey schools and Learn To Skate programmes.

Several former Olympic stars are working in collaboration with the scheme.

Gold medallists Cousins and Torvill, who are starring in the ITV hit show Dancing On Ice, plan to set up a training academy on site to school the country's future Olympic champions.

Brighton and Hove City Council's project team are considering the plans when a planning application is submitted within the next few weeks.

Friday, February 17, 2006