Arena Birmingham
| File:Logo of the Barclaycard Arena Birmingham.png | |
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| Former names | National Indoor Arena (1991–2014) |
|---|---|
| Address | King Edwards Road Birmingham B1 2AA England |
| Coordinates | 52°28′47″N 01°54′54″W / 52.47972°N 1.91500°W |
| Owner | NEC Group (Lloyds Banking Group) |
| Operator | NEC Group |
| Capacity | 15,800[1] |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 4 October 1991 (as National Indoor Arena) 2 December 2014 (as Barclaycard Arena) |
| Renovated | 2013–2014 |
| Construction cost | £26 million (renovation) |
| Architect | Broadway Malyan (renovation) |
| Project manager | Novus |
| Structural engineer | Rodgers Leaske |
| Main contractors | Royal BAM Group (renovation) |
| Tenants | |
| All England Open Badminton Championships Sainsbury's Indoor Grand Prix | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Barclaycard Arena (previously the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor sporting and entertainment venue in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The Arena, which is owned by parent company, the NEC Group, is situated in central Birmingham. When it was opened in 1991, it was the largest indoor arena in the UK.[2]
The arena hosts a variety of events including concerts, business conferences and exhibitions. It has a capacity of up to 15,800 using both permanent seating and temporary seating configurations.[3] The NIA was officially opened on 4 October 1991 by the athlete Linford Christie.[4]
The arena was renamed after it underwent an extensive renovation which was completed at the end of 2014. Michael Bublé opened the renovated arena on 2 December 2014.[5]
The Barclaycard Arena 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 arena is The ICC which is also owned by the NEC Group.
Renovation
In 2012 plans to refurbish and renovate the NIA were approved by Birmingham City Council. The plans included creating a showpiece entrance from the canal-side, three "sky needle" light sculptures, a new glazed facade fronting the canal and new pre-show hospitality elements. The design was by the architecture firm Broadway Malyan and the building contract was awarded to Royal BAM Group in 2013 with an projected finishing date of Winter 2014.[6]
The £26 million redevelopment began in June 2013. The redeveloped arena was officially opened with a performance by singer Michael Bublé on 2 December 2014.[7] It was renamed the "Barclaycard Arena" in November 2014 after Barclaycard won the naming rights for five years,[8] but in May 2016 it was announced that the naming deal would end early, in 2017.[9]
Notable events
The arena has been used for several major events in the past, including counting no less than eight constituencies in the hall for the 1992 general election.[10]
- Gladiators was filmed at the arena from 1992 to 1999
- 1993 IBF World Championships
- 1995 Netball World Championships
- 1998 Eurovision Song Contest[11]
- 1999 World Judo Championships
- On Saturday 2 October 1999, it played host to WWF Rebellion 1999
- Between Friday 14 March to Sunday 16 March 2003, it played host to the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
- Great Britain Davis Cup tennis matches (vs. United States in 1999, vs. Sweden and Thailand in 2002, and vs. Japan in 2016)
- BBL Cup and BBL Finals Weekend matches
- 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.
- 2003 IBF World Championships
- 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
- Michael Flatley's Stage Show, Celtic Tiger – DVD recording
- 2010 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
- 2010 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
- It has played host to three BAMMA events. BAMMA 4 on Saturday 25 September 2010, BAMMA 7 on Saturday 10 September 2011 and BAMMA 9 on Saturday 24 March 2012.
- Between Wednesday 7 July to Saturday 17 in 2010, it played host to the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship.
- 2011 Trampoline World Championships
- Total Nonstop Action Joker's Wild II pay per view taping on 2 February 2014.
- Mariah Carey has performed at the arena on March 18, 2016 part of European Leg Tour of Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour
- 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships
NEC Group
Parent company The NEC Group also owns and operates the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and International Convention Centre (ICC), both in central Birmingham, and the Genting Arena (previously The NEC Arena and LG Arena), based on The NEC site.
References
- ^ "Venue Information | Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham". Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Our brands". NEC Group. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ "Venue Information". Barclaycard Arena. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ "Birmingham NIA". ActivBirmingham. Retrieved 24 January 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.bam.eu/en/press/press-releases/michael-buble-officially-launches-birminghams-barclaycard-arena
- ^ "International firm awarded £24m contract to refurbish Birmingham NIA". Birmingham Post. Birmingham. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ Brown, Graeme (29 September 2014). "Michael Bublé to perform as NIA renamed the Barclaycard Arena". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 30 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Barclaycard scraps sponsorship of Birmingham Arena". BBC News. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ Election 92, BBC, 9 April 1992
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1998". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 9 May 1998. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
External links
