| Location | Basingstoke, UK |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 2002 |
| Management | Jones Lang LaSalle |
| Owner | Grosvenor Group |
| No. of stores and services | 165 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 102,000 m² (1,097,928 ft²) |
| Parking | 3000 |
| No. of floors | 5,2 Retail, 3 Car Parking |
| Website | http://www.festivalplace.co.uk/ |
Festival Place is a shopping centre in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England which opened on Tuesday, 22 October 2002. It houses 165 shops[1] including large department stores such as Bhs, Debenhams, and Marks and Spencer. There are also restaurants, bars, and cafés, mostly located outside in the covered Festival Square.
The centre also incorporates a Vue (formerly Ster Century) cinema, Liquid nightclub, Sports Centre and the town's library. It is located within Basingstoke town centre, close to Basingstoke railway station, and incorporates the town bus station and a multi-storey car park.
Festival Place is 102,000 m² (1.1 million square feet) in size and is owned by the Grosvenor Group.[2]
The area of Basingstoke which Festival Place now stands on was cleared in the 1960s where a large concrete shopping centre was built. The first phase, which became The Walks and New Market Square was completed at the end of the decade and The Walks was covered in the 1970s. The second phase became The Malls and has hardly been altered. The third phase was abandoned and became The Anvil concert hall.
Festival Place was completed in 2002. The development replaced New Market Square and a 1960s multi-storey car park and included covering Porchester Square and extending the centre to the east into a new two-level section, Festival Square and the tower which is illuminated at night. The bus station was redeveloped and an amphitheatre was built beyond Festival Square and a fountain installed in neighbouring Eastrop Park.
The centre was used by BBC's Top Gear (Series 12, Episode 6) by Jeremy Clarkson who was road testing a Ford Fiesta 2008 whilst being chased by "Baddies" in a Chevrolet Corvette.