The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large
indoor arena in the city of
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Owned and operated by
ASM Global
The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports event ...
and sponsored by
Utilita Energy
Utilita Energy is an electricity and gas supplier operating in the United Kingdom. Utilita began trading in 2003, specialising in pay-as-you-go metering.
As of January 2021, Utilita has over 800,000 customers, representing a 2.6% share in the do ...
, it hosts music, entertainment, sports and business events.
Having also had various professional basketball and
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
teams as tenants for much of its history, since 2009 it has had no ice hockey team after the departure of the
Newcastle Vipers
From 2002–2011 the Newcastle Vipers were an ice hockey club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The club was a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League, and the British National League.
History
Predecessors
Previously, the city was repre ...
to the
Whitley Bay Ice Rink, and no basketball team since the departure of the
Newcastle Eagles
The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...
to
Northumbria University's Sport Central arena in 2010.
History
Two well known local musicians conceived and helped build the arena,
Chas Chandler
Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...
and his business partner Nigel Stanger, together with invaluable help from local Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance partner John Wall. The
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
listed Ogden Corporation was awarded a 20-year contract in February 1995 to design the arena, and once completed, to manage the facility including booking and promotion. According to Ogden, the arena clearly filled a market opportunity for touring acts who had otherwise bypassed the area, with the next nearest local venue being the 2,000 seat
Newcastle City Hall
The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a concert hall located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as stan ...
, and the only other medium-sized venues being as far away as
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
to the south or
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
to the north. Acts that did visit the region often had to make use of the 3,200 seat
Whitley Bay Ice Rink.
The arena cost £10.6m to build (partly financed by a £2.5 million grant from Tyne & Wear Development Corporation), and opened as the Newcastle Arena on Saturday 18 November 1995 with a basketball league game between the resident team the
Newcastle Comets
The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...
, hosting the
Doncaster Panthers
{{cleanup, reason=no lead paragraph, no subheadings, disorganised article structure, date=March 2015
The Doncaster Panthers Basketball Club was established in 1954 by Morris Wordsworth and played out of Balby High School Gym in their formative yea ...
.
The venue was officially opened by Torville and Dean in January 1998.
The Ogden Corporation assumed full ownership of the arena after Chandler and Stanger sold their stakes in Park Arena Limited.
Chandler died in 1996 while Stanger died in 1999.
In 1997 the arena was renamed the Telewest Arena after a sponsorship deal with the telecommunications and cable-television company
Telewest
Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also onc ...
.
[ In 2000 the Ogden Corporation sold the arena to SMG for $240m.][
In January 2004 the arena was renamed as the Metro Radio Arena after a new sponsorship deal was signed with the independent local station ]Metro Radio
Metro Radio is an Independent Local Radio station based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to County Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
As of September 2022, the ...
.[ The seven figure deal was to last a minimum of three years. By 2005, the end of the first decade of operation, seven million people had attended events at the arena.]
In 2008 plans drawn up by consultants working for Newcastle City Council and the land-owning stake-holders, SMG, Bellway Homes
Bellway plc is a residential property developer and housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company was founded in 1946 by ...
, Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
and Isle Casinos, were to be presented to the council, outlining three redevelopment options for the arena site: a casino and regional conference centre, a hotel, or mixed use office and housing, with the arena building potentially being demolished or upgraded as part of the proposal.
Design
According to ASM Global, the open span arena is the largest concert and exhibition venue in the north east. It has of exhibition and conference space. For concerts, it has a seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 11,000 and more, while for basketball it can seat 6,500 and for ice shows, 5,500. A further 36,000 square metres of space is available for large events and exhibitions. In addition to the main arena, there are also two 100 capacity corporate lounges.[ The large foyer area previously housed two venues called the Mayfair and Riverside.][ The arena site also has a 600 space secure parking facility.]
Location
Situated on the South-Western edge of Newcastle city centre
Newcastle City Centre is the city centre district of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the historical heart of the city and serves as the main cultural and commercial centre of the North East England region. The city centre forms the core o ...
, the arena is loosely bounded to the south by the River Tyne, to the west by a business park, to the east by the elevated Redheugh Bridge
The Redheugh Bridge (, ) is a road bridge spanning the River Tyne west of Newcastle upon Tyne city centre on the north bank and Gateshead town centre on the south bank, in North East England. It currently carries the A189 road.
The first cr ...
which runs across the river, and to the north by the major thoroughfares of the Scotswood Road and West Road, connecting the city centre to its western districts.[
The arena is oriented on an east–west alignment, with the main entrance located in the east wall. Steps lead down to a local north–south running street, Redheugh Bridge road, which is actually parallel to, and below, the actual bridge and was the road to the old Redheugh Bridge.][
]
Operator
The arena is both owned and operated by ASM Global. Ailsa Oliver is the general manager of the arena. Security is provided by Showsec and First Aid is provided by ShowMed.
ASM Global will also be the operators of The Sage
The Sage is a forthcoming indoor arena and conference centre in Gateshead, United Kingdom due to open in Autumn 2024. The site is located between the existing Sage Gateshead venue and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on Gateshead Quaysid ...
arena development on Gateshead Quayside.
Tenants
Ice hockey
The first ice-hockey team to take residence at the arena was the Whitley Warriors
Whitley Warriors are an ice hockey team based in Whitley Bay in the north east of England. Founded in 1957 as the Bees, they changed their name to Whitley Warriors in 1964. Warriors played at the highest level of British ice hockey for much of ...
, but they left after just a few months.
The Arena was used by the Newcastle Cobras
The Newcastle Jesters were an ice hockey franchise based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. The team were members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and played their home games at the Telewest Arena (now the Metro Radio Arena).
History
Single Season ...
ice hockey team from August 1996. The Cobras were the former Durham Wasps, who had been bought by Newcastle businessman John Hall John Hall may refer to:
Academics
* John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic
* John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal
* John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...
, owner of Newcastle United football club. Hall's intention was to move the team to a new venue in Newcastle near the football team's ground St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Pa ...
, as part of his wider Sporting Club vision for the city. After failing to get planning permission, after a season spent in Sunderland still as the Wasps, the team instead moved into the newly built Arena, and began the 1996/97 season as the Cobras. Due to changes of ownership, after two years the team was renamed the Newcastle Riverkings, before again being renamed as the Newcastle Jesters. The Jesters played for a single season in 2000/01 before being shut down. The Sunderland Chiefs who originally played out of Crowtree Leisure Centre in Sunderland also played their last season out of the Arena in 2000/2001.
After a year without ice hockey, a new franchise named the Newcastle Vipers
From 2002–2011 the Newcastle Vipers were an ice hockey club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The club was a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League, and the British National League.
History
Predecessors
Previously, the city was repre ...
was formed for the start of the 2002/03 season, and used the arena as their home rink. After suffering financial difficulties and being unable to attract enough spectators to afford the rent, the Vipers moved home mid-season in November 2009, leaving the arena to move to Whitley Bay Ice Rink, as tenants of the Warriors.[ While the club were hopeful of a return to the arena, a permanent home in Gateshead was also mooted, with redevelopment proposals tabled during early 2010. A hoped for return to the arena for the 2010/11 season did not occur, as it could not guarantee sufficient dates due to problems with the ageing ice making equipment, seeing the club commit to staying at Whitley Bay.
]
Basketball
The arena opened with a resident basketball team in the Newcastle Comets
The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...
, having been relocated from Sunderland where they had played as the Sunderland Scorpions.[ In 1996, the Comets were bought by John Hall as part of the Sporting Club project. Having spent just one season as the Comets in the arena, the team were renamed the ]Newcastle Eagles
The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball team based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Playing in the top-tier British Basketball League and holding the franchise for Tyne & Wear, they are the most successful team in the League's histor ...
for the start of the 1996–97 season.
In September 2010, after 14 years at the Arena, the Eagles moved to Northumbria University's newly built Sport Central development featuring a 3,000 capacity arena, located in their campus in the north east part of the city centre. While having the arena's capacity had been part of the reason why the team went from an under-performing side to British Basketball League
The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...
champions for which the team were thankful, part of the reason for the move was that due to clashes with Friday night concerts the team would have to play away from home, leading to lost revenue, with the final season seeing the team go on the road for three straight months, while the arena hosted the musical '' Mamma Mia!''. The move also offered improved training arrangements, and enhanced pre-existing links with the university teams. The team had also only been averaging 3,000 crowds in the arena, which could hold 6,500.
Events
The arena has been used since 1997 to host an annual convention of Jehovah's Witnesses. Local worshippers, as well as some from as far north as the Scottish Borders, as far south as North Yorkshire and as far west as Maryport, on the west coast of Cumbria, flock for the 3-day event in June; around 7,000 attend in total.
In 1998, Barney, along with Baby Bop, BJ, Professor Tinkerputt, Mother Goose and many more held a party in ''Barney's Big Surprise'' during the 8-city UK tour.
Other sporting events hosted by the arena have included Nations Cup snooker, Davis Cup tennis and world championship boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
.[
Many prominent British boxers have fought at the Arena. The first major boxing event featured ]Nigel Benn
Nigel Gregory Benn (born 22 January 1964) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1996. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and the WBC super-middleweight ti ...
being defeated in a WBC Super Middleweight title defence. In 1996 Prince Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed (born 12 February 1974), nicknamed Prince Naseem and Naz, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2002.. Retrieved 25 February 2016. He held multiple featherweight world championships, including the WBO ti ...
defended his WBO Super Featherweight title. In 1999, Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, '' Ring'' magazin ...
defended his WBO Super Middleweight title and Richie Woodhall
Richie Woodhall (born 17 April 1968) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2000. He held the WBC super-middleweight title from 1998 to 1999, as well as the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1992 to 1995, and the E ...
defended his WBC Super Middleweight title on the same night. In 2001 Audley Harrison fought in his second professional bout. In 2002 Joe Calzaghe again defended his WBO title while Ricky Hatton
Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at l ...
headlined the card defending his WBU Light Welterweight title. In 2009 Amir Khan defended his WBA Light Welterweight title in a Sky Box Office
Sky Box Office is Sky's pay-per-view (PPV) system operated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There were three branded divisions of Sky Box Office – Sky Cinema Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and Sky 3D Box Office. Until 1 February 2011, th ...
Pay Per View event. In 2014 Stuart Hall twice defended his IBF Bantamweight title, losing his title in the second bout with Paul Butler. In 2015, future heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua headlined a live Sky Sports event. In 2017 former world champion Liam Smith is scheduled to face Liam Williams in a rematch and WBO Light Middleweight title eliminator live on BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...
.
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
has hosted numerous events at the arena, most notably Insurrextion on Saturday 7 June 2003.
From May 25th to May 26th, Barney, Baby Bop & BJ also held a performance in ''Barney's Colorful World!'' in 2004 during its time in the UK.
Since 2007, it has played host to the Premier League Darts
Premier League Darts is a darts tournament which launched on 20 January 2005 on Sky Sports. Now played weekly from February to May, the event originally started as a fortnightly fixture in small venues around the United Kingdom. The tournament ori ...
.
The Arena has also hosted major Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
events, including UFC 80
''UFC 80: Rapid Fire'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), that took place on January 19, 2008, at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, United Kingdom.
Background
The main event was originally sch ...
in 2008 featuring BJ Penn
Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American G ...
's Lightweight Championship win. BAMMA 12 was hosted in 2013, while Cage Warriors 62 in 2013 and 73 in 2014 were also held at the Arena.
The arena has hosted many top acts of the music industry, including solo artists such as Janet Jackson, Shania Twain
Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...
, Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
, Rihanna, Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...
, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...
, Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
, Toni Braxton
Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...
, Elton John, Tom Jones, Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
, Linkin Park, Katy Perry, Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
, Kylie Minogue, Gabrielle, Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
, Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
, Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
, Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
, Diana Ross, Cher, Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...
and bands/groups such as McFly, The Backstreet Boys, Oasis, Snow Patrol, KISS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
, Metallica, Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
, Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
, Imagine Dragons, Westlife
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
, Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
, Spice Girls, Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...
, JLS
JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company ...
, The Saturdays
The Saturdays were a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and have been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa ...
, Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...
, Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...
, The Wanted
The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...
, Little Mix, One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
, All Saints, AC/DC, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
, and Dua Lipa.[ The first concert at the arena is commonly assumed to have been by ]David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
shortly after opening, on 7 December 1995, although the actual first performers at the venue were local duo The Proud Ones, who filled in for Morrissey after he cancelled his appearance.
The arena was also the venue that hosted the first two nights of Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
's sold out comeback tour, The Ultimate Tour.
The Arena has hosted a number of all-night dance events under the name of Godskitchen, many world-class DJ's such as Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Mauro Picotto
Mauro Picotto (born December 25, 1966) is an Italian electronic music producer and DJ, and previously a member of the Italian Euro house group "R.A.F.". He became well known as a solo artist with songs including "Komodo (Save a Soul)", "Puls ...
, Judge Jules and Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...
have played in the venue to sellout crowds.
The arena has also hosted stage and ice shows such as Disney on Ice, Teletubbies
''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...
, and on 10 November 2010 Michael Flatley
Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows '' Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', '' Feet of Flames'', and '' Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 mi ...
came to the arena during the European tour of 'The Return of Michael Flatley as the Lord of the Dance, he and his troupe performed in front of a sold-out audience, and ''Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'' came to the arena.[ Business events hosted have included trade exhibitions, corporate events and company meetings for ]BT Group
BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
and Northern Rock
Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank i ...
.[ The exterior space has also been used to stage events such as live-action motor sport displays and a circus.][
On Monday 18 June 2012, it played host to the Newcastle audition stages of the ninth series of the ITV singer search programme '']The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''. The eventual winner of the series, James Arthur
James Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music after the fi ...
, auditioned here.
Transport
In addition to road access provided by the nearby major thoroughfares, the arena is 10 minutes walk from Newcastle railway station
Newcastle Central Station (also known simply as Newcastle and locally as Central Station) is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around north of . It is the primary national rail station ...
to the east, for National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
and Tyne & Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
services.[ Some local ]public transport bus service
Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable.
History of buses Origins
While there are indications ...
s pass the arena on the northern side, on Railway Street, although most services use the major roads further north.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Basketball venues in England
Indoor arenas in England
Indoor ice hockey venues in England
Culture in Newcastle upon Tyne
Sports venues in Newcastle upon Tyne
Music venues in Tyne and Wear
Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
Snooker venues
Newcastle Eagles
1995 establishments in England
Exhibition and conference centres in England
Darts venues
Sports venues completed in 1995