Genting Arena

Genting Arena
Exterior of venue under new signage (c.2016)
Former names Hall 7 (planning/construction)
Birmingham International Arena (1980–83)
NEC Arena (1983–2008)
LG Arena (2008–14)
Address Perimeter Rd
Birmingham B40 1NT
England
Location Marston Green
Coordinates 52°27′12″N 1°43′10″W / 52.45333°N 1.71944°W / 52.45333; -1.71944Coordinates: 52°27′12″N 1°43′10″W / 52.45333°N 1.71944°W / 52.45333; -1.71944
Owner NEC Group
Capacity 15,683
Construction
Broke ground 11 April 1979 (1979-04-11)
Opened 5 December 1980 (1980-12-05) (as Birmingham International Arena)
Renovated 2008–09
Construction cost £28 million (renovation)
Architect Edward Mills & Partners
Structural engineer Ove Arup & Partners
Website
Venue Website

The Genting Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) near Birmingham, England. It has a capacity of 16,000 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 18 months of construction, the arena opened as the "Birmingham International Arena" in December 1980 with a concert by Queen.

Together, the NEC and the Genting Arena host over 3 million visitors each year. The Ticket Factory is the official box office for the Genting Arena.[1]

History

LG Arena logo used from 2009 to 2014.

The venue was known as Birmingham International Arena until 1 September 1983,[2] then as NEC Arena from 5 September 1983 to 31 August 2008.

From 1 September 2008, the NEC Arena was officially renamed as the LG Arena, following a naming-rights sponsorship deal with global electronics company LG. The arena then underwent a £29 million overhaul of its facilities, paid for by loans from Birmingham City Council and regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.[3]

Work on the LG Arena was finished mid October 2009 and the arena hosted its first concert with Tom Jones. Included in the installation were around 1,000 new seats, bringing the capacity to 16,000[4] to compete with venues such as The O2 Arena in London and the Manchester Arena in Manchester, which are amongst the busiest music venues in the world. Also constructed were new hospitality areas and a forum containing new bars, restaurants and other customer facilities. Prior to its first concert, the arena hosted the 2009 Horse of the Year show.

In 2011 the venue became the tenth-busiest arena in the world[5] and 13th-busiest in 2014.[6]

It was announced in November 2014 that as part of a sponsorship deal with the casino group, the arena would be renamed the "Genting Arena" from 6 January 2015.[7][8] On 25 September 2018, the NEC Group announced that the Genting Arena will be renamed "Resorts World Arena" as of December 3rd of this year. Genting UK will continue to sponsor the hall. The reason for the new name is to more closely align the venue with Genting's Resorts World Birmingham that is opposite the arena, which opened in October 2015.[9]

Events

The Spice Girls performed 6 sold out shows on the Spiceworld Tour during April and May 1998. Comedians such as Michael McIntyre, Ricky Gervais and Peter Kay have brought their shows to the venue.

In 2010 and 2011, the arena hosted the Birmingham audition stages of the British reality television music competition, The X Factor.

On 19 December 2010, it played host to the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, and it also hosted the 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. On 5 November 2011, it played host to UFC 138.

Lady Gaga concluded her Joanne World Tour at the arena on 1 February 2018. South Korean rapper, G- Dragon also played at the arena on 23 September 2017 as part of his ACT III MOTTE tour.

In 2010, 2013 and 2017, it played host to a BAMMA event.

Event Date
BAMMA 3 Saturday 15 May 2010
BAMMA 14 Saturday 14 December 2013
BAMMA 29 Friday 12 May 2017

NEC Group

Parent company The NEC Group also owns and operates the Barclaycard Arena (previously the National Indoor Arena) and International Convention Centre (ICC), both in central Birmingham, and the National Exhibition Centre.

References

  1. ↑ "Sponsors". Genting Arena Birmingham.
  2. ↑ Haryott, R.B.; Budd, P.J.; Feltham, Ian (February 1983). "THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE HALL 7, BIRMINGHAM INTERNATIONAL ARENA". 74 (1). Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: 25–46.
  3. ↑ "Birmingham NEC Arena to be renamed LG Arena in £28m revamp". Trinity Mirror. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "Venue Information". Genting Arena Birmingham.
  5. ↑ "Manchester Arena Is Second Busiest Arena in the World". Manchester Confidential. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "Manchester Arena is third busiest in the world" (PDF). 13 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Birmingham's LG to become Genting Arena". BBC News. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Brown, Graeme (6 November 2014). "Birmingham LG Arena renamed Genting Arena in new sponsorship deal". Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "Genting Arena to become Resorts World Arena". IQ Magazine. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.

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