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NEC Group’s Genting Arena Birmingham To Be Renamed Resorts World Arena
NEC Group today announced that Genting Arena in Birmingham, England, will be rebranded to Resorts World Arena, effective Dec. 3, as part of the group’s agreement with Genting UK.
Genting UK has held the title sponsorship of the 15,700-capacity venue since January 2015 and will continue to do so using the new brand name, as a means of aligning it to the popular Resorts World Birmingham leisure and entertainment destination, which opened three years ago directly opposite the Arena.
The decision also follows NEC Group’s results for the year ending March 31, 2018, announced in July and highlighting how attendance at the Group’s two arenas grew by 17 percent against the previous year to over 1.6 million.
Besides Genting Arena, NEC Group also operates the 15,800 capacity Arena Birmingham in the city center
Phil Mead, Managing Director of NEC Group Arenas said: “The alignment of the Resorts World brand to our world class arena will serve both parties well in maximising branding opportunities. Resorts World Birmingham was the first piece of the Group’s leisure strategy to transform the NEC campus into a 24-hour leisure and entertainment destination, and has helped us to increase campus footfall, reaching 7.5 million in 2018.
“As a top destination on many touring routes, the Arena has recently played host to global artists such as Iron Maiden, Paul Weller, Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue and has invested in excess of £3 million [$3.9 million] in its facilities since partnering with Genting UK, enhancing the customer experience both front and back of house. This, teamed with the outstanding outlet shopping, leisure, and a wide range of bars and restaurants for our visitors over the road at Resorts World Birmingham, makes this an extremely cohesive partnership that’s helping to make our ambitious campus plans reality.”
Ian Bennett, operations director for Resorts World Birmingham, added: “Resorts World Birmingham will celebrate its third birthday this October and since we opened we have established ourselves as a major destination for leisure and entertainment experiences. Visitors to the Arena are increasingly using Resorts World to add to their visit whether as a pre-event venue or to extend their experience post-show. Therefore, it makes sense to align the two venues under one brand. We are delighted to continue our relationship with the Arena and the NEC Group with this exciting new brand development.”
Genting UK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genting Malaysia, which trades in the UK as a leisure and entertainment business. In October 2015 the £150 million Resorts World Birmingham opened, which sits adjacent to the Genting Arena.
Resorts World Birmingham combines leisure and entertainment facilities, including a four star hotel, a wide range of bars and restaurants, an 11-screen cinema, shops, a casino as well as a conference center. In its first three years, Resorts World Birmingham welcomed over 10 million guests.