Dome 'could stage pop concerts'

The Dome closed its doors at New Year

The beleaguered Millennium Dome could temporarily be used to stage one-off events such as pop concerts, it has been revealed.

The Greenwich attraction closed its doors on 31 December 2000 after costing about £854m to build and run for one year.

Now the government agency charged with securing its future is looking at the possibility of allowing concerts and sporting events to be staged while a new owner is sought.

Clubbers danced the night away at Ministry of Sound's Dome party

The site is still continuing to incur costs of around £420,000 a month despite having been out of business for more than six months.

The government is still attempting to sell the structure but after the preferred bidder, Legacy, dropped out it became clear the Dome would remain empty for some time.

English Partnerships, which is charged with decommissioning the Dome, is now looking at hiring the building out for occasional events.

A spokeswoman said: "There is a possibility that the Dome could be hired out for events after decommissioning but nothing firm has been decided."

Party

It expects the Dome to be just an empty shell by October, when it could then be used by outside companies.

The auditorium could seat up to 10,000 people but all facilities including seating would have to be provided by organisers.

The Ministry of Sound staged a New Year's Eve 2000 dance party at the attraction to mark its closing, but this was held in marquees beside the main structure.

Legacy: Has yet to walk away from bidding

News of the Dome's temporary availability has been welcomed by boxing promoter Frank Maloney, who manages former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Criticism

But impresario Harvey Goldsmith said the cost of staging an event would be prohibitive.

The Dome has been severely criticised for using up so much Lottery money as it was bailed out of financial crisis on a number of occasions.

David James, who took over as executive chairman of the New Millennium Company in September last year, said the biggest problem had been the failure to attract the forecast 12 million visitors.

Writing in the company's annual report, he also said it suffered from confused priorities, the lack of a clear plan for the contents, weak financial controls and the wrong management structure.

It also failed to take into consideration the £30m it would cost to close the attraction.