Breakfast with Bristol24/7: Andrew Billingham

It’s before 9am on a sunny winter’s morning but Andrew Billingham, managing director of YTL’s Bristol arena project, has already been working for hours.

He calls apologetically to say he’ll be late for breakfast as his early-morning call has overrun – catching up with the Malaysian business owners who have bought up swathes of the former Filton Airfield, planning to build a new neighbourhood of almost 3,000 homes on it.

Flanking the airfield are the gargantuan Brabazon Hangars, which Andrew is tasked with turning into a world-class 16,000 seat arena with a proposed opening date of summer 2022.

We’re meeting at Lockside, a stone’s throw from Ashton Gate, where Andrew spent three years guiding Bristol Sport through its launch and stadium redevelopment. He arrives, unflappable in a suit and tie having driven in from his home in Gloucestershire, and orders a cappuccino.

When it arrives, he tells me that moving here for the Bristol Sport job was the first he lived had outside his native Staffordshire, where he grew up playing football in a tight-knit working class family with his parents and younger sister.

“We’ve got a loving family,” he says, pulling down the blind to shield his eyes from the low sun. “My parents were very supportive; great parents who wanted to strive to be better. For me that’s been quite an inherent value and trait that I’ve taken from them.”

Andrew and his wife have two adopted daughters, both of whom have studied in Bristol. The draw to be nearer them was another reason for the family to resettle in the West Country.

Andrew Billingham at Lockside – illustration by Anna Higgie

It’s been 28 years since Andrew started out in the world of sport and entertainment, joining sporting giants Adidas at the age of 22 in a sales role and rising rapidly through the ranks.

Three years after managing small fry like Gyles Brothers on Whiteladies Road, he was working with David Beckham ahead of the France 1998 World Cup and rubbing shoulders with David Whelan, owner of JJB Sports, then the second biggest sports retailer in the UK.

“It was absolutely the right role for me to really get involved in that whole world,” Andrew says, ordering a portion of tiger bread with bacon. “I loved it. I’m a keen sportsperson and musician but what fascinated me was how major events – a football team competing in the Premier League or a large-scale concert – could really influence people’s lives.”

After a decade at Adidas, Andrew joined JJB Sports boss and former Blackburn Rovers player Whelan, who bought Wigan Athletic in 1995, as a partner in the redevelopment of the team’s stadium.

From there he stayed in the world of football, joining Birmingham City under the management of Karren Brady, before moving to Stoke City and Bristol Sport. Brady was “a great teacher”, Andrew says as the food arrives. “She’s a mentor to me still today. She’s very driven. I absolutely love her energy.”

Following consultancy work with YTL about the viability of an area at the Brabazon Hangars, Andrew was hired to manage the project. And with Bristol City Council’s decision in September that the site next to Temple Meads originally earmarked for the arena would become a mixed-use development, the hangars got the green light – subject to planning permission. But does Bristol even need an arena?

“One of the big arguments at the moment is the value that has been lost from Bristol’s economy because we can’t attract large-scale events,” Andrew says, digging into his bacon. “If you want to go and see international artists or large shows you have to go to Birmingham or the O2 in London.

“What’s important to us is that we put Bristol on the map and we repurpose the hangars into a venue that the artists want to come and play. So when Lady Gaga comes to town, she goes away saying ‘Bristol is amazing’. That’s our drive.”

Andrew says the arena will host the world’s biggest musicians along with major sporting fixtures, family events and touring shows like Strictly Come Dancing Live!. “We need to give these events a home and give people in the West of England a chance to see them,” Andrew says, warming to his topic. “There’s nothing better than seeing events live, in my opinion.”

He cites the rise of streaming services like Spotify with changing the entertainment industry immeasurably in the past 28 years, but also enhancing it: “Artists want to go and tour now. Revenues for them are reduced in terms of the old record label sales, despite reaching more people now, so playing live is really important. From the fans’ perspective, I think that’s a real positive.”

Andrew pushes away the last bit of his tiger bread and wipes his mouth with a napkin. “People say bringing an arena to Bristol has been talked about for 30 years,” he says. “It’s really exciting. What a great opportunity we have as a business to deliver this much-needed piece of infrastructure for the city.”

Illustration of Emma Rice by Anna Higgie: www.annahiggie.co.uk

Read more: What to expect from the YTL Arena in Filton