London Lions Unveil Plans for 15,000‑Seat Arena
What the new arena will look like
The London Lions have released fresh plans for a new multi-purpose arena that will become the club’s long-term home. The proposal includes a 15,000-seat main bowl and a smaller 3,500-seat secondary arena, alongside training facilities and other support spaces designed to host sport, concerts and community activity.
Organisers expect the main arena to stage roughly 40 basketball games a year — including the Lions’ fixtures and major international matchups — while the venue would also host more than 100 additional sporting and cultural events to keep it busy throughout the year. The site is planned to house the women’s team, a dedicated training centre and areas for community basketball development aimed at giving young people better access to the sport.
Economic impact, backing and the wider picture
City leaders and the club say the project could be a major economic boost: independent studies estimate around 10,000 new jobs and a total economic contribution of about £3.4 billion across roughly 13 years. The Mayor of London has publicly backed the scheme, and a basketball task force created in 2024 is part of wider efforts to grow the game in the capital.
Tesonet — part of the club’s ownership group — has signalled strong financial commitment, with its co-founder noting sustained investment into the team over recent seasons and positioning the arena as a step in a larger plan for the club and the sport in London.
The timing sits alongside a busier period for basketball in the UK: the NBA returns to the country in January 2026 with a game at the O2, Manchester is due to host its first NBA game in 2027, and the broader NBA Europe initiative is slated to begin in the 2027/28 season, with London and Manchester named among key cities. Those developments help explain the push for a permanent, high-capacity home for the capital’s top club.
Next steps will include planning approvals and further consultations, with the developers and the club saying they’ll continue refining the project as they work toward delivering a new sporting and entertainment landmark for London.
