National Indoor Arena
 |
This article is outdated. (December 2011) |
Coordinates: 52°28′47″N 01°54′54″W / 52.47972°N 1.91500°W
| National Indoor Arena | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
|
| Location | The NIA King Edwards Road Birmingham B1 2AA England |
| Opened | 4 October 1991 |
| Owner | NEC Group |
| Capacity | 12,802 seated 14,150 standing[1] |
| Website | thenia.co.uk |
| Tenants | |
| All England Open Badminton Championships Aviva Indoor Grand Prix |
|
The National Indoor Arena (NIA) is one of the busiest, large scale indoor sporting and entertainment venues in Europe. Since opening in 1991, it has welcomed visitors to over 30 different sports and an extensive variety of entertainment and music. Everything from Oasis, Coldplay, Sir Cliff Richard and Kings of Leon, to Disney on Ice and Cirque du Soleil.
The Arena which is owned by parent company, the NEC Group, is situated in central Birmingham, England. When it was opened in 1991, it was the largest indoor arena in the UK.[2] The multi-purpose arena is as flexible as possible; it can stage concerts, entertainment spectaculars, business conferences and exhibitions. The adaptable format of the NIA Academy creates a more intimate theatre-style auditorium to accommodate smaller concerts, ballet as well as comedy and theatre. The Arena has a capacity of up to 12,700 using both permanent seating and temporary seating configurations.[3]
The NIA was officially opened on 4 October 1991 by the athlete Linford Christie.[4]
At the end of 2011, the NIA announced that it was set to undergo a £20.6 million transformation. The refurbishment of the building will be taking advantage of its unique location on the city’s canal side and will feature a new showcase entrance straight from Brindleyplace into the arena, with large glazed views over the water and the city.
The work is set to get underway in late 2012 and will include improved facilities and a much greater emphasis on both the pre and post show experience. The flow within the venue will be made much easier, with the intention of increasing the ease of access and comfort for promoters, artists and visitors to the building.
The NIA is located alongside the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line's Old Turn Junction and opposite the National Sea Life Centre in Brindleyplace. Close to the NIA, is The ICC which is also owned by the NEC Group.
Notable events[edit]
 |
This section may contain excessive, poor, or irrelevant examples. (August 2010) |
Over the years it has hosted many notable events:
- 1993 and 2003 World Badminton Championships
- 1995 Netball World Championships
- 1998 Eurovision Song Contest
- 1999 World Judo Championships
- WWF Rebellion 1999
- 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships
- Davis Cup tennis matches
- BBL Cup and BBL Finals Weekend matches
- Many basketball, powerlifting, table tennis, and wrestling competitions
- The British games company Games Workshop used the arena to stage their Games Day and Golden Demon events until 2003, when they moved to the larger National Exhibition Centre.
- Heart of England Judo championships
- The British Indoor Rowing Championships since 2000
- The Gladiators television programme from 1992 to 2000
- The All England Open Badminton Championships from 1994 to present day.
- WWE Raw on the Survivor Series 2005 Tour.
- WWE Raw, ECW and SmackDown television taping on 15 and 16 October 2007
- 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships
- Michael Flatley's Stage Show, Celtic Tiger - DVD recording
- UFC 89
- BAMMA 4, BAMMA 7 & BAMMA 9
- Beyoncé performed at the arena during her I Am... Tour on May 23, 2009
- 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
- 2010 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships
- 2011 Trampoline World Championships
- 2011 Iron Maiden- The Final Frontier World Tour. The played the Arena as part of their 10 Date UK Tour with Australian rock band Airbourne providing support
- 2012 BMX World Championships
- 2012 Madonna. The MDNA World Tour marked Madonna's first performance in Birmingham.
- Alexandra Burke performed there as part of her All Night Long Tour, and rapper Nicki Minaj also performed at the arena as part of her Pink Friday Tour.
- 2012 All England Super Series Premier
- 2013 Alicia Keys is set to perform there as part of her Girl On Fire Tour, Justin Bieber is set to perform there as part of his Believe Tour
- Leona Lewis, Olly Murs and The Jacksons have confirmed dates to perform there in 2013.
References[edit]
- ^ "The NIA Factsheet". Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ http://www.necgroup.co.uk/venues The NEC Group Venues
- ^ "Venue Information". thenia.co.uk.
- ^ http://www.activbirmingham.com/Info/BirminghamNIA-3553.html
External links[edit]
| Preceded by Pavilhão Atlântico Lisbon |
IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics Venue 2003 |
Succeeded by Budapest Sports Arena Budapest |
| Preceded by Palacio de Deportes de la CAM Madrid |
European Indoor Championships in Athletics Venue 2007 |
Succeeded by Oval Lingotto Turin |
| Preceded by Point Theatre Dublin |
Eurovision Song Contest Venue 1998 |
Succeeded by International Convention Center Jerusalem |
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg){kind=small}
