Arena Birmingham set to be renamed Utilita Arena Birmingham

Arena Birmingham is set to be renamed Utilita Arena Birmingham as a part of major new partnership with Britain’s leading Smart Pay As You Go (PAYG) Energy provider, Utilita.

The iconic city centre venue will take up its new name on 15 April 2020.

Utilita has a growing presence in the UK live events industry, having partnered with a number of major music festivals in recent years including Parklife, TRNSMT, Creamfields, V Festival, Bestival and Camp Bestival – as well as Newcastle Arena (now Utilita Arena Newcastle).

Utilita’s customers are set to receive exclusive access to pre-sale tickets at the 15,800-capacity venue, which has recently hosted the likes of Ariana Grande, Jack Whitehall and Take That, as well as VIP experiences and exclusive ticket offers.

The energy supplier – which has more than quadrupled in size since 2015 from 180,000 to 780,000 households and businesses across the UK – will also use the Arena’s pre-show entertainment areas to get audiences thinking about their energy usage as part of its new #EnergyHigh5 campaign, designed to get 5m UK households to reduce their energy consumption by a minimum of £163* per year.

As part of the new deal, Utilita will also become a Partner of the NEC Group’s other flagship arena, Resorts World Arena, one of the world’s top entertainment arenas situated on the NEC campus just outside Birmingham City Centre.

Utilita Founder and CEO, Bill Bullen, said:

We are thrilled and honoured to have our name above the door of such an exciting and well-known venue. As well as providing our customers with fantastic opportunities to see some world class shows in the heart of the country, this will also help us to deliver our #EnergyHigh5 message to nearly a million visitors a year – and millions more across the region.

Commenting on the new partnership, NEC Group CEO, Paul Thandi CBE DL said:

Within our venues we’re working hard to have optimum energy usage, and we consider the new Utilita partnership to be an extension of the NEC Group’s award-winning environmental and sustainability commitments. The best partners are those who can add value to our visitors, and we’re looking forward to working with Utilita to get our audiences thinking about their environmental footprint.

*Source: Energy Saving Trust / National Energy Action

About Arena Birmingham 

Arena Birmingham, part of the NEC Group, is one of the busiest, large scale indoor sporting and entertainment venues in the world and accommodates everything from music, sport and comedy, to family entertainment and live theatre.

Situated in the heart of the UK, the multi-purpose venue hosts over 100 events and welcomes over 800,000 visitors through its doors annually, with a capacity that can range from a maximum of 15,800 down to 2,464 for more intimate events.

Officially renamed as Arena Birmingham on 1 September 2017, the venue has also previously been known as the Barclaycard Arena (December 2014-August 2017) following the venue’s GBP£26m redevelopment, and originally as the NIA (October 1991-December 2014).

For more information visit: www.arenabham.co.uk.

Andy Price, Head of Commercial for Arena Birmingham (soon to be Utilita Arena Birmingham) and Resorts World Arena at NEC Group, was one of some 50+ industry expert speakers at ALSD International – Europe’s one and only event dedicated to the Premium/Club/VIP Seating and Hospitality sector. This high-level conference and exhibition is organised and delivered by the 30-year-old Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD) in conjunction with Sports Venue Business (SVB).

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