Combined authority bosses are remaining tightlipped on whether the North East mayor could offer a fresh cash injection to help build a new arena and conference centre on the banks of the Tyne.

Plans for a “world class” development on the Gateshead Quayside have been in the works for years, but construction is yet to begin on the site and its costs are known to have escalated substantially. Gateshead Council bosses said in June that they hoped to deliver an update “later in the summer” on the future of the vast project, which it is hoped could bring in over a million visitors a year and generate a £70 million annual boost for the region’s economy.

The building of the Sage International Conference Centre (ICC) and Sage Arena has now been named alongside the proposed Crown Works film studios in Sunderland as “game changers” for the region’s culture, creative and tourism sectors by the North East Combined Authority. NECA, led by elected mayor Kim McGuinness, outlines in a strategic plan due to be discussed at the body’s cabinet next week that it wants to “support the development of the Gateshead Sage Arena and ICC capitalising on its potential to drive wider place-based economic and social outcomes”.

But it remains unclear whether or not that will translate to significant financial backing for the project, led by Ask:PATRIZIA, as has been the case for Crown Works. The Wearside film and TV studios will be awarded an initial £25 million from NECA, as part of the “trailblazer” deal struck with the previous government earlier this year , while plans for it to make further public investment into the Pallion-based development are also being drawn up by combined authority officials.

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service whether a similarly substantial NECA investment for the Gateshead Quays regeneration was on the cards, a spokesperson replied: “Gateshead Quays remains an important project for the North East – to attract visitors, grow our economy and promote the region on the international stage. We’re working closely with the Gateshead Council to explore options where NECA can support the scheme.”

The 12,500-capacity arena and ICC scheme was among the first beneficiaries of the devolution deal which established NECA and the new mayor, with a £3.5 million contribution signed off in January this year prior to the mayoral election as part of early investments designed to help kickstart some key developments. It also received £5 million from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership in 2017, as well as £20 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Construction on the site, nestled between the Baltic art gallery and the Glasshouse International Centre for Music, was meant to start in autumn 2023 but has not yet begun. Original designs for the riverside leisure, entertainment, and business complex were approved in late 2020, but had to be redrawn as the development was hit with soaring construction costs – particularly as a result of the rising price of steel.

Council officials have previously stated that the price tag for the development had spiralled from an original £260 million to more than £350 million.