It is with great sadness that Ryde Arena Limited has today informed its staff and users that we are no longer in a position to operate Ryde Arena.

It has become clear in recent weeks that AEW/BNY Mellon (the landlords) have no interest in allowing us to run a not for profit facility for the community.

At this present time we would like to put on record our thanks to the loyal staff and the dozens of volunteers who have worked tirelessly in the last 18 months to keep the arena open, despite some of the cruellest setbacks possible. In addition our thanks also go to our customers, Ryde Town Council and the Isle of Wight Council for their support.

We are truly devastated that the island is losing this facility.

At this stage we have no idea what the landlords plans are for the building. Clearly the landlord AEW/BNY Mellon still have the opportunity to see sense and discuss a solution that is acceptable to both parties and avoid yet another empty derelict building that serves no purpose to the community.

In the next few days we will make public some of the issues we faced in the hope that it will shed some light on what we were up against.