Arena Birmingham

Background

The arena was officially opened, as the National Indoor Arena, on 4 October 1991 by the athlete Linford Christie. When it was opened, the arena was intended to be an indoor sporting venue. However, the venue began to host entertainment events shortly after opening.

The arena currently hosts a variety of events including concerts, sporting events and conferences. It has a capacity of up to 15,800 using both permanent seating and temporary seating configurations.

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.

In 2018 the arena had ticket sales of 497,443, which was the 4th highest in the United Kingdom.

Naming history

• National Indoor Arena (4 October 1991 – 1 December 2014)
• Barclaycard Arena (2 December 2014 – 31 August 2017)
• Arena Birmingham (1 September 2017 – 14 April 2020)
• Utilita Arena Birmingham (15 April 2020 - Present)

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 a projected finishing date of Winter 2014.

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. It was renamed the "Barclaycard Arena" in November 2014 after Barclaycard won the naming rights for five years, but in May 2016 it was announced that the naming deal would end early, and from September 2017 it would be named Arena Birmingham.

On 16 January 2020, it was announced that the arena will be renamed Utilita Arena Birmingham from 15 April 2020.

Notable events

The arena has been used for several major events in the past, including counting no fewer than eight constituencies in the hall for the 1992 general election.

• Gladiators was recorded at the arena from 1992 to 1999.
• 1993 IBF World Championships
• 1995 Netball World Championships
• Eurovision Song Contest 1998
• 1999 World Judo Championships
• 1999 WWF Rebellion.
• The 2001 Robot Wars Live Tour.
• 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
• 2003 IBF World Championships
• 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
• The Premier League Darts every year since 2007
• 2010 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• 2010 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
• 2011 Trampoline World Championships
• Lee Evans performed here from 17 to 21 September 2014 to record his final stand-up show tour Monsters before his retirement.
• Linkin Park performed here as part of the One More Light Tour on 6 July 2017. This was the band's last performance of the European leg, as the remaining show in Manchester were cancelled due to a bombing at the Manchester Arena, where the band was supposed to perform. It was also the final performance of lead singer Chester Bennington before his death on 20 July 2017.
• 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships
• 2022 Commonwealth Games
• Billie Eilish played her debut show here as part of her Happier Than Ever: The World Tour on 15 July 2022.
• Monster Jam Ramped Up made its worldwide debut on 29-31 March 2024, featuring the all new Monstergon.
• Tyler, The Creator played here for his first UK show of his CHROMAKOPIA Tour on 17 May 2025.
• 2025 World Deadlift Championships on 6 September 2025, where the greatest feat of strength in human history was achieved when Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson broke the all-time world record deadlift for the third consecutive time with 510 kg, and went on to win the entire Giants Live World Open.

Ticket sales

NEC Group

Parent company The NEC Group also owns and operates the ICC Birmingham in central Birmingham, and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and bp pulse LIVE (previously Resorts World Arena, Genting Arena and LG Arena), based on The NEC site in nearby Solihull.

References

References

1. "Our Brands {{!}} Utilita Arena Birmingham".
2. "Our brands". NEC Group.
3. (16 December 2019). "2019 Worldwide Ticket Sales Top 200 Arena Venues".
4. "Birmingham NIA". ActivBirmingham.
5. "Birmingham celebrates 25 years of city centre arena {{!}} News {{!}}NEC Group".
6. Council, Birmingham City. "Arena Birmingham".
7. "About us {{!}} Arena Birmingham".
8. "Venue Information". Barclaycard Arena.
9. "Michael Bublé officially launches Birmingham's 'Barclaycard Arena' {{!}} Koninklijke BAM Groep / Royal BAM Group".
10. "2018 YEAR END Worldwide Ticket Sales TOP 200 ARENA VENUES".
11. . (3 October 2014). ["Birmingham's revamped National Indoor Arena (NIA) to become the 'Barclaycard Arena'"](http://www.psam.uk.com/birminghams-revamped-national-indoor-arena-nia-to-become-the-barclaycard-arena).
12. (14 April 2017). "Birmingham's Barclaycard Arena to be renamed". [[MNA Media]].
13. (16 May 2013). "International firm awarded £24m contract to refurbish Birmingham NIA". [[Birmingham Post]].
14. Brown, Graeme. (29 September 2014). "Michael Bublé to perform as NIA renamed the Barclaycard Arena". Birmingham Mail.
15. [http://www.newsroom.barclays.com/Press-releases/Barclaycard-partners-with-NEC-Group-899.aspx] {{webarchive. link. (30 March 2012)
16. (5 May 2016). "Barclaycard scraps sponsorship of Birmingham Arena". BBC News.
17. (11 September 2017). "Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham changes its name again". [[Birmingham Mail]].
18. (16 January 2020). "Arena Birmingham to change name again - and everyone says same thing".
19. ''Election 92'', [[BBC]], 9 April 1992
20. (9 May 1998). "Eurovision Song Contest 1998". European Broadcasting Union.
21. [https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/chester-bennington-rip-linkin-park-final-concert-video-7873814/ "Watch Linkin Park Perform With Chester Bennington for the Last Time"]. Billboard. Retrieved 21 July 2017
22. Felstead, Scott. (6 September 2025). "Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Deadlifts 1,124 Pound Record Then Wins Strongman Open 2025 - Critics are hailing the “greatest performance in strength sports history.”". Muscle & Fitness.
23. "THIS MAN JUST DID THE GREATEST LIFT IN HISTORY! 510kg DEADLIFT WORLD RECORD".
24. "2017 YEAR END Worldwide Ticket Sales TOP 200 ARENA VENUES".
25. "2016 YEAR END Worldwide Ticket Sales TOP 200 ARENA VENUES".
26. "2015 YEAR END Worldwide Ticket Sales TOP 200 ARENA VENUES".
27. (2018-10-15). "NEC Group sold 'for £800m'". BBC News.