To spot the Plymouth Pavilions, look for a large modern building with lots of sharp-angled glass panels and a tall glass tower in the centre, with the word "PAVILIONS" clearly visible running downwards.
As you stand here, right in front of the futuristic angles of Plymouth Pavilions, imagine the air alive with excitement - this is the place where Plymouth truly comes to party, to cheer, and to be amazed. If these walls could talk, they’d probably sing! But before this spiky glass palace made its mark, this ground once echoed with the sounds of trains and steam, because you’re standing on the former site of Millbay railway station. See those granite pillars by the entrance? Those sturdy sentinels are the station’s original gateposts, quietly keeping watch as decades roll by.
Step inside during a big concert night and you’d feel the thump of bass and cheers of the crowd. Artists from Ed Sheeran to Oasis, and Pink to Dermot Kennedy, have made the stage blaze with sound and light. And, oh, the Arctic Monkeys set a record here - their concert sold out in just one hour, only to be matched by Gary Barlow who almost needed a stopwatch to keep up. Imagine queueing up at The Ticket Store, the box office bustling with people desperate to grab tickets before they’re all snapped up. It’s a real “blink and you’ll miss it” kind of place!
But it’s not just music that fills the halls of the Pavilions. Once, this was the only place in Devon where you could swoosh and twirl on an indoor ice rink. You could practically hear the blades carving along the ice, the laughter and the echo of kids slipping and sliding around. Sadly, in 2022, the crunch of bills overtook the hiss of the ice, and the rink had to close for good. Years earlier, there was a family swimming pool too, with an underwater-themed extension - perhaps even the odd inflatable shark floating past. When the state-of-the-art Plymouth Life Centre opened, the old pool shut its doors forever. If you listen hard enough, maybe you can still hear the splashes and giggles behind those walls, the laughter echoing in abandoned corridors where water once sparkled.
This isn’t just a temple to music and family fun. The Pavilions is one of the weirdest-looking basketball arenas in the country, with its unusual two-tiered stands. For years, local basketball fans filled the seats for the Plymouth Raiders, the crowds roaring and the house lights pulsing with pre-game hype. Even now, with new basketball teams making cameos (like the Plymouth City Patriots), you can smell the popcorn and feel the vibrating energy every time someone sinks a three-pointer under pyrotechnic blasts and epic sound shows.
Fancy something a bit more dramatic? This arena has hosted the flying darts of Premier League Darts pros, and even the jaw-dropping athleticism of WWE wrestlers slamming down for a UK tour. So whether you want big, booming events or you’re here for the ‘Pavilions Introduces’ nights - where the best new bands of the South West have their moment in the spotlight - the Pavilions is Plymouth’s ever-changing stage, always ready for the next cheer, the next guitar chord, or the next gasp from the crowd.
So, take a moment here, outside the sparkling glass, and imagine the wildest concert, the coldest skate, the loudest slam dunk, and the echoes of trains long gone. Plymouth Pavilions is built for memories - and who knows, maybe tonight, you’ll help make the next legendary moment too!
