A shortlist has been announced consisting of five top architectural firms to design the Bristol Arena, a £90m (US$150m, €112m) venue on an old oil depot site near Temple Meads Station.

Following the announcement of a design competition from the RIBA and Bristol City Council in August 2014, a shortlist has been released.

The following multi-disciplinary design teams have been shortlisted:

- A consortium of; Grimshaw, MANICA Architecture, Thornton Tomasetti, M-E Engineers and Neil Woodger Acoustics

- A consortium of; Populous / Feilden Clegg Bradley / Buro Happold / Vanguardia- White Arkitekter with Arup

- Wilkinson Eyre with Arup- IDOM (in collaboration with Foreman Roberts and Nagata Acoustics)

Bristol’s Mayor, George Ferguson commented: “We now have five very capable and talented design teams, with a wealth of experience between, them drawing up proposals for an arena that will contribute to the regeneration of the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone and provide one of the very best experiences for audiences and major acts.”

The Arena is part of a wider Allies and Morrison masterplan for the area. When complete, it will be a multi-entertainment venue with 12,000 seats.

A public design exhibition will be held in January 2015 before the announcement of the winning team in February. Work is expected to start in early 2016 with the opening planned for 2017.