£150m sports arena scheme for London

One of the world's richest men is behind a plan to build a new, £150 million, 20,000-seater indoor sports arena in London.

American Phillip Anschutz's scheme would help solve one of the capital's two biggest embarrassments.

He wants to put the new arena either on the site of the Millennium Dome or at Wembley. The Wembley option is to use the site of Wembley Arena, which is next to the empty football stadium. If the Anschutz plan went ahead there, it would help make the redevelopment of the football ground as the National Stadium more viable.

The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) own the Staples Centre arena in Los Angeles and control 600 cinemas in the US. Their European interests include the Evening Standard-sponsored London Knights ice hockey team, a share of the ownership of the Docklands Arena and four other European ice hockey sides

Tim Leiweke, 43, president of the Anschutz Sports Group, said today: "We are working in London for an opportunity to build a new arena there and expect in the next 60 days to have an announcement on our progress."

Detlef Kornett, managing director of AEG Europe, said: "There are procedures that need attending to and if it were the Wembley site that was chosen, it could take up to four years for completion. If it is the Dome site, then it could take just 2-3 years."