COULD a new conference centre, attracting major acts and creating dozens of jobs, be created in Southampton?

That is the dream of the city council's leader, who says it could happen if and when a devolution deal for the Solent is announced in the summer.

Simon Letts says the deal, that could potentially fund £1billion of transport, skills and housing improvements in Hampshire over the next three decades, could be the catalyst for the creation of a new, large-scale venue similar to the Bournemouth International Centre.

And Cllr Letts said it could also be used to get a new conference centre in Southampton off the ground.

The new venue could feature everything from gigs by major musical artists and comedians to large-scale events attended by thousands of people such as university or party political conferences.

Over the next month the BIC will feature performances by Bryan Adams, Michael Bolton, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, chef James Martin and comedy legend Ken Dodd, and Cllr Letts hopes a centre in Southampton could attract a wide variety of acts.

The Labour boss said: "We have got two major universities without a major conference centre which could welcome big comedians and bands, a venue to enhance the Boat Show and other maritime events.

"We haven't got one in Hampshire, and we now have enough hotels to make it viable.

"It's about filling those hotel beds, bringing people to the city and spending money here, enhancing the opportunities for local businesses and it will create extra jobs."

He said a potential venue has been identified but it can not be disclosed at the moment.

This is not the only scheme that could be kickstarted by a devolution deal, as there are hopes for a hi-tech tram system between Southampton and Portsmouth, as revealed by the Daily Echo last week.

Conservative Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith supported the idea of a conference centre, but said he was not sure that devolution money could be used directly on such a project as it was for infrastructure.

Mr Smith, a former council leader, said his party had tried to get the idea off the ground at that time but it proved difficult to make it work commercially without a subsidy to help get it built.

He said it would be "a great thing" for Southampton attracting thousands of people to the city.

"Once there they see the other wonderful things on offer - it generates jobs, it secures jobs in the hospitality industry," he added.

Stewart Dunn, chief executive of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said the organisation would support a new conference centre in the region, saying: "Southampton would make an ideal location given its two universities and the potential to develop the waterfront, as well as the transport links and international airport."

Saying the venue could make host international events hosted by the universities, he said: "Of course we would like to see a political conference and would welcome any of the parties to host a conference, but I think it's wider than that.

"We have to be realistic, it's a competitive market and whatever we do must complement those venues around us, such as Bournemouth and Brighton, and I think we should have a feasibility study to see what Southampton's niche is."

Sally Thompson, chief executive of Business South said: "We welcome the news that a conference centre for Southampton is once again on the agenda.

"There is already a real need for such a facility and if it were built it would bring more conferences and major events to Southampton."