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 15th 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.”
Author: Molly Hookings
Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com
