Atomic explosive near venue (5)
I believe the answer is:
arena
'venue' is the definition.
(I know that venue can be written as arena)
'atomic explosive near' is the wordplay.
'atomic' becomes 'a' (eg in A-test, atomic test).
'explosive' indicates an anagram.
'near' with letters rearranged gives 'rena'.
'a'+'rena'='ARENA'
(Other definitions for arena that I've seen before include "Area of endeavour" , "Earls Court?" , "Space for public events" , "where there's competition" , "What the Colosseum was" .)