Merrion Centre (Leeds)

Merrion Centre

The southern entrance of the Merrion Centre, as of 5 May 2007
Location	Leeds city centre, Leeds, England
Opening date	1964
Owner	Town Centre Securities
No. of stores and services	90
Total retail floor area	800,000 ft² including none retail areas.
No. of floors	2 (main retail area only) The centre has 20 floors of office space.

The Merrion Centre is a shopping centre in Leeds, England. Since opening in 1964, the centre has been owned and managed by Town Centre Securities. Originally open air, the centre had a roof installed during the 1970s.

The Merrion Centre is an early example of a mixed-use development including offices, car parking, retail (including a Morrisons supermarket) and entertainment including a bowling alley, a nightclub and several public houses. Currently most retail in the centre is aimed more towards the budget end of the market which means the centre is especially popular with working-class customers and students. The Merrion Market area featured a range of independent stalls, shops and cafés ranging from mainstream but downmarket to idiosyncratic, but was closed to make room for The New Front, an area backing onto the arena which contains restaurants, cafès and leisure facilities.

Since the pedestrianisation of Briggate and the opening of new shopping centres such as Victoria Quarter, Trinity Leeds and The Light, the Merrion Centre has seen a transition from high-end retail chains to more utilitarian and functional chains. The main anchor tenant is Morrisons. Other large retailers within the complex include Leeds United Official Club Store (retailer), Poundworld, Wilko, Superdrug and The Works.

The centre had originally included an Odeon Cinema when it opened, however this closed in 1977 following a screening of Gone with the Wind. It remains empty and unused to this day only opening occasionally for events such as Heritage Open Days. The cinema inside is notable in the fact that other than the removal of the seating, it is unchanged since closing with original operating manuals and film posters in place and is admired by fans of 1960s and 1970s culture. The ground floor entrance is opposite the entrance to Morrisons and has been blocked up and replaced with cash machines.