Energy provider Utilita has added to its naming rights portfolio in the UK through a partnership with Arena Birmingham.
The venue in the West Midlands city will be renamed Utilita Arena Birmingham on April 15. Utilita’s customers will receive exclusive access to pre-sale tickets at the 15,800-capacity arena, as well as VIP experiences and exclusive ticket offers.
The company, 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. This is designed to get five million UK households to reduce their energy consumption by a minimum of £163 (€192/$213) per year.
As part of the new deal, Utilita will also become a partner of the NEC Group’s other flagship venue, Resorts World Arena, which is situated on the NEC campus just outside Birmingham city centre.
The Birmingham Arena deal comes after Utilita took naming rights to Newcastle’s former Metro Radio Arena in January 2019. League Two football club Bradford City agreed a three-year stadium naming rights deal with Utilita in July.
Commenting on the new partnership, NEC Group CEO, Paul Thandi, 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.”
Utilita founder and CEO, Bill Bullen, added: “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.”
Officially renamed as Arena Birmingham in September 2017, the venue has also previously been known as the Barclaycard Arena from December 2014 to August 2017 following its £26m redevelopment, and originally as the NIA from October 1991 to December 2014.
