26 July 2012
The NEC Group’s LG Arena has been ranked seventh in the list of top 100 arenas worldwide in Pollstar Magazine's 2012 mid-year rankings.
The list, compiled by the well-respected concert and venue industry publication, reflects tickets sold for music events from 1 January – 30 June, 2012.
Selling a total of 254,666 tickets this year so far, the LG Arena has moved up the chart to seventh place from tenth place in last year’s year-end ranking, reporting ticket sales from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
The National Indoor Arena (NIA), also part of the NEC Group and sister brand of the LG Arena, came 50th in the listing, moving up 24 places from last year’s scoring.
Combined, the attendance figure for both venues equals 381,058 – accumulatively placing the NEC Group’s Birmingham venues third in the listing.
Commenting on the results, General Manager for the LG Arena and NIA Guy Dunstan said:
“We are extremely proud of the fact that the LG Arena has retained its place as one of the top ten venues in the world for the second year running. We have had fantastic feedback from promoters, artists and customers and were nominated International Venue of the Year at last year’s Pollstar awards. I believe the £29 million refurbishment of the LG Arena in 2009 has really cementing its position as one of the leading venues in the world.
Guy went on to add: “We are also delighted that the NIA has moved up 24 places from being ranked 74th last year, to 50th in this year’s report. We have already had some massive names playing at the NIA this year, including One Direction, Nicki Minaj and Madonna, who came to the Midlands for the first time ever as part of her MDNA tour this summer.
“The improvement in the NIA’s ranking is particularly significant as music events only make up 30 per cent of the NIAs content. The NIA has hosted over 30 different sports in its 20 year history and more world championships than any other arena in Europe.
“The increase in music events at the venue is mainly down to its city centre location and the flexibility of the arena, which allows our teams to easily adapt to the requirements of any show. In the same week we have had Noel Gallagher playing to an audience of 13,500 fans one day, and the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships a few days later. The diversity in the programme of events hosted at the NIA is a real USP of the venue.
“With the £20.5 million refurbishment of the NIA set to start work in January 2013 and our recent partnership with Barclaycard, it is an exciting time for the region and music events at the NIA.”