 Mr Prattey said artists like U2 could come to Liverpool |
One of the men who masterminded Birmingham's growth as a conference centre has been picked to oversee Liverpool's new indoor arena. Bob Prattey, 50, was revealed on Tuesday as the new chief executive of the planned �150m, 9,400-seater Kings Dock Waterfront Arena.
He is the former managing director of the group of venues at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
Work begins on the Kings Dock site in four weeks' time and will open in 2008.
Mr Prattey promised that the new venue would be able to attract artists such as U2 or Madonna.
The 50-year-old, who joined the NEC in 1983, rose through the ranks from assistant event manager to oversee such projects as the National Indoor Arena and Birmingham's International Conference Centre.
He is credited with helping to attract events such as the G8 Summit and the Eurovision Song Contest to Birmingham as well as enticing dog show Crufts to move out of London in its centenary year.
"It's a wrench to leave Birmingham but I can see some real parallels with Liverpool - we have an opportunity here to repeat that success," said Mr Prattey.
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