National Bowl
Muse performing at the Bowl in 2023
Former namesMilton Keynes Bowl (1979–1992)
LocationMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England
OwnerEnglish Partnerships
OperatorGaming International/Live Nation UK
TypeStadium Amphitheatre
Capacity65,000
Construction
Opened1979
Renovated2012
Website
www.thenationalbowl.net

The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the many new developments in the area. It has a maximum capacity of 65,000.[1] The arena is open-air grassland, without seats.

History

The venue opened in 1979, with gigs by Desmond Dekker and Geno Washington.

In 1992, Sony/Pace bought the venue and re-branded it as the National Bowl, building a massive permanent sound stage. They pulled out in 1996 citing profitability reasons.

English Partnerships, which merged with the Homes and Communities Agency in 2008, bought the site in 2000. From 2006 to 2010, it was leased to a Gaming International/Live Nation UK consortium.

Development plans

The Stage in 2006.

2006 development plans

On 23 January 2006, Gaming International/Live Nation won a further lease in a competitive tender. The consortium made proposals for major developments in a a development summary leaflet (previously linked from the 'Backstage' section of the National Bowl website, now removed).

Gaming International handed The Bowl back to Milton Keynes Partnership towards the end of 2010 – so it is unlikely that any of the plans outlined in 2006 will ever be undertaken – apart from a temporary structure built close to The Bowl in summer 2010 which has a temporary three-year planning permission.

2013 proposed plans

In December 2011, Milton Keynes Council officially adopted proposals to make Milton Keynes an “International Sporting City” which included ambitious plans to redevelop the National Bowl into an international-standard sports training base suitable for hosting visiting international teams when they played at Stadium MK or elsewhere in the UK and also as a permanent home for MK Dons.[2]

Milton Keynes Council agreed to fund the training complex as part of a property deal with Inter MK, a property development company owned by MK Dons chairman Peter Winkelman, on land owned by the Council in Newport Pagnell that was earmarked for housing development and expected to increase substantially in value when planning permission was given. The funding plan involved sale of the site to Inter MK for £2 million, with half of any increase in the value of the site being used to fund the training ground development and the remainder being returned to the Council.[3] However, this plan was abandoned in early 2014 following some local residents beginning judicial review proceedings against the Council on the basis that the plan involved illegal state aid to Inter MK.[4][5][6]

Milton Keynes Council consulted on these plans in 2013 before ultimately deciding not to pursue the proposals the following year.[7][8]

2014 proposed plans

In February 2014, the BBC reported that an investment company had proposed a new development at the site of Milton Keynes Bowl. This was planned to include the UK's largest water park, and a range of sports facilities and enhancements to the arena.[9] In July 2015, the investment firm leading the proposal announced that it would not proceed with the plan.[10]

2019–2023 proposed plans

A crowd at an outdoor event
The stage set for a performance by Muse in June 2023.

In June 2019, Milton Keynes Council replaced the previous objective in its Council Plan to "Revitalise MK Bowl" with an objective to "Support the MK Dons in delivering a high-standard training ground and academy".[11]

This allowed a deal to be agreed in September 2019 between Milton Keynes Council and Inter MK Limited for the National Bowl to be converted into a sports training ground facility partly funded by the Section 106 contributions from enabling commercial and leisure development at the site.[12]

This returned to the 2013 proposals which Milton Keynes Council had decided not to pursue. It followed the sale by Inter MK of land in Newport Pagnell to Milton Keynes Council for £11 million in July 2018.[13][14]

Inter MK is expected to lodge its planning application with Milton Keynes Council by the end of 2020.[15]

In February 2023, Inter MK said that it had been granted planning permission for two full-sized football pitches and training grids on the site,[16] "with plans to still hold concerts at the site in future".[17]

Recordings

Location

National Bowl is located in Milton Keynes
National Bowl
National Bowl, on Watling Street and Chaffron Way
zoom in

The Bowl is in south central Milton Keynes, at the junction of Watling Street with Chaffron Way, just north of Bletchley. Parking on site (MK5 8AA) is very limited so fans are encouraged to arrive by public transport. In addition to the shuttle buses from Milton Keynes Central railway station, it is also an easy walk (about 2 km (1.2 mi)) from the station using Sustrans National Cycle Route 51 from the south side of the station building.

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Bowl official website
  2. ↑ International Sporting City Steering Group Final Report (PDF) (Report). Milton Keynes Council. 2011.
  3. ↑ "Minutes of the meeting of Milton Keynes Council". 18 December 2013.
  4. ↑ James Averill (26 February 2014). "Call for judicial review of land". MK News.
  5. ↑ "Minutes of the meeting of Milton Keynes Council Executive Scrutiny Panel". 16 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Milton Keynes Council response to FOI request (Tickford Fields)". 17 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "Ambitions for The Bowl" (Press release). MK Dons. 6 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "National Bowl Development Brief, paper for Milton Keynes Council meeting". Milton Keynes Council. 4 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Milton Keynes National Bowl plans £26m indoor water park - BBC Beds, Hertz and Bucks, 27 February 2014
  10. ↑ Setback for National Bowl plans, Milton Keynes Citizen, 14 July 2015
  11. ↑ "Milton Keynes Council Plan 2016-2022". Milton Keynes Council. 11 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Dons given the nod to redevelop the National Bowl as a training base". Milton Keynes Citizen. 19 September 2019.
  13. ↑ Corporate Performance Report Annex B, Paper presented to meeting of Milton Keynes Council Scrutiny Management Committee (Report). 10 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Delegated Decision Committee, Combined Decision Sheet". Milton Keynes Council. 12 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "Interview with Andy Cullen". MKFM. 10 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Muse: Milton Keynes National Bowl hosts first gig in seven years". BBC News. 2 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Holland, Kris (26 June 2023). "Football pitches to be built at city music venue". BBC News.

52°01′07″N 0°45′38″W / 52.018606°N 0.760589°W / 52.018606; -0.760589

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