LG Arena (Birmingham)
| The NEC | |
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Exterior of venue under former signage (c.2010)
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| Former names | NEC Arena (1982–2009) LG Arena (2009–14) |
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| Location | Genting Arena National Exhibition Centre Birmingham B40 1NT |
| Owner | The NEC Group |
| Operator | Lloyds Group |
| Capacity | 15,700 |
| Field size | 94.8m x 51.4m |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1980 |
| Renovated | 2008–2009 |
| Expanded | October 2009 |
| Construction cost | £29,000,000 (Refurbishment) |
| Website | |
| www |
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The Genting Arena, host to large music concerts, is part of the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) complex located in Birmingham, England. The 16,000 capacity Genting Arena was the largest multi-purpose arena in the UK when opening in 1980 as "The NEC Arena" and is still a major popular venue for many large, international touring acts. 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.
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.
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 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 LG Arena became the 10th busiest arena in the world.
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 January 2015.
Being able to host large and intimate shows the Arena does offer a wide range of comedians that are nationally and internationally known with acts such as Michael McIntyre, Milton Jones, Ricky Gervais, Al Murray and Peter Kay bringing their shows to the Arena.
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Wikipedia