Feature

Barclaycard Arena to change name to Arena Birmingham 

Birmingham’s multi-purpose indoor venue the Barclaycard Arena has announced that as of next month it will be known as Arena Birmingham.

The rebranding will become official on September 1, as the arena makes the change to reflect its location.

The move comes after Barclaycard said in 2016 that it planned to remove its long-term naming rights with the venue as part of a review of its sponsorship strategy across the company and the broader Barclays Group.

Arena Birmingham will see live acts such as the Nooran Sisters, John Legend and The Australian Pink Floyd Show as a few of the first to grace its stage under a new name.

According to the Birmingham Mail newspaper, managing director for the NEC Group Arenas, Phil Mead said: “The Barclaycard Arena has been a resounding success since it launched with Michael Bublé in 2014 following a £26m redevelopment.

“The award-winning venue has attracted world-class entertainment from Drake to Iron Maiden and Céline Dion, and has secured high profile international sports events from the Davis Cup in 2016, to the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in 2018.

“Much of what we have achieved is down to the support of Barclaycard who have been an excellent partner since 2012, but we are now entering another exciting era with Arena Birmingham, as it’s transformed into a destination in its own right within the city.

“The construction of the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham is already underway, we are a principle venue of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 bid, and will be hosting a roster of great events throughout the rest of 2017/18.”

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