Metro Radio Arena
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| Metro Radio Arena | |
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| ' | |
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| Facility statistics | |
| Location | Metro Radio Arena Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 7NA England |
| Opened | November 1995 |
| Owner | SMG Europe |
| Operator | SMG Europe |
| Architect | |
| Former names | |
| Telewest Arena | |
| Tenants | |
| Newcastle Eagles (Basketball) Newcastle Vipers (Ice Hockey) |
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| Seating capacity | |
| Concerts: 11,000 Basketball: 6,500 Ice hockey: 5,500 |
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The Metro Radio Arena Newcastle is an 11,000 seat sports and entertainment venue based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
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[edit] History
Former member of the 1960s band, The Animals, Chas Chandler and his business partner Nigel Stanger conceived and helped build the arena[1]. It opened in November 1995 with a star-studded basketball game, and the first concert was performed by David Bowie on 7 December 1995.
[edit] Sponsorship
It is currently sponsored by the local commercial radio station Metro Radio. It was formerly sponsored by Telewest, and named the Telewest Arena until January 2004[2]. SMG Europe have owned and operated the venue since 2000.
[edit] Events
The Arena is currently home to the Newcastle Eagles basketball team and the Newcastle Vipers ice hockey team.
It has hosted WWE Insurrextion 2003, live on Sky Box Office and many other World Wrestling Entertainment events, most of the time selling out. WWE's last event was a SmackDown house show on the 18th of April, 2008. The next event is scheduled to be a Raw house show on the 12th of November, 2008.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought their UFC 80 event to the arena on January 19, 2008.
The Arena also acts as a tour venue for many solo music artists and bands.
[edit] Proposed Closure
On 17th May 2008, it was announced that the arena could be closed down and demolished to make way for new developments. Interest has been shown in the development of a convention centre as well as a new arena, a casino, housing and offices. [3]
[edit] Records
Performances by Kylie Minogue have set three firsts for the Arena[4]. With an extra date announced for her July 2008 tour, she became the first solo artist to perform for four nights at the Arena. This followed records for the fastest selling show at the venue (2002), and the highest ever attendance of 10,123 for a fully seated gig at the Arena.
[edit] References
- ^ Metro Radio Arena, Who We Are
- ^ Newcastle Arena Changes Name In Major Sponsorship Deal - 2004-01-12 - Press release from SMG Europe announcing the sponsorship deal with Metro Radio.
- ^ Chips may be down for city’s biggest venue - ChronicleLive
- ^ Kylie has wow factor, Evening Chronicle, 13 March 2008, page 33. Also available at chroniclelive.
[edit] External links
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