Newport City Live Arena is a large grade-II listed building in the city of Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

It is located in Clarence Place on the east side of Newport city centre

Newport city centre

Newport city centre is traditionally regarded as the area of Newport bounded by the west bank of the River Usk, the George Street Bridge, the eastern flank of Stow Hill and the Great Western Main Line. Most of the city centre is contained within two conservation areas: the central area and the area...

 near Newport Bridge

Newport Bridge, Newport

Newport Bridge connects High Street and Clarence Place across the River Usk adjacent to Newport Castle in Newport city centre.- The 1800 bridge :...

. The building is one of the only true examples of Art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 in Newport. Opened in March 1938, it was originally an Odeon

Odeon Cinemas

Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...

 cinema , designed by Harry Weedon

Harry Weedon

Harold William "Harry" Weedon was an English architect. Although he designed a large number of buildings during a long career, he is best known for his role overseeing the Art Deco designs of the Odeon Cinemas for Oscar Deutsch in the 1930s...

. The cinema closed in 1981, fell derelict in the following years and was facing the possibility of demolition

Demolition

Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....

. It was awarded grade-II listed building status in 1999.

After many years of the ground floor being used as snooker hall, the building was bought by a local businessman in 2003 and it was transformed at a cost of over £1 million. Current features included a huge TV screen, to show live sporting events, and a stage that has played host to several famous music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

acts in recent years.