Arena Birmingham

National Indoor Arena
Location	The NIA; King Edwards Road; Birmingham; B1 2AA; England
Owner	NEC Group
Capacity	12,802 seated; 14,150 standing
Opened	4 October 1991
Tenants
	All England Open Badminton Championships; Aviva Indoor Grand Prix
Website
	thenia.co.uk

52°28′47″N 01°54′54″W / 52.47972°N 1.91500°W / 52.47972; -1.91500

The National Indoor Arena (NIA) is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK.^[2] The NIA hosts a range of events ranging from sporting events, to musical concerts, and has a capacity to seat up to 12,700 using both permanent seating and temporary seating configurations.^[3]

It was officially opened on 4 October 1991 by the athlete Linford Christie.^{[citation needed]}

The NIA is located alongside the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line's Old Turn Junction and opposite the National Sea Life Centre in Brindleyplace. Close to the NIA, is The ICC which is also owned by the NEC Group.

The seating is arranged into upper-tier, lower-tier and flat floor seating sections. The lower-tier and flat floor sections are made up of removable seating whilst the upper-tier is made up of fixed seating. Areas for disabled visitors is provided between the upper-tier and lower-tier flooring, on the Atrium level.

Notable events

Over the years it has hosted many notable events:

1993 and 2003 World Badminton Championships
1995 Netball World Championships
1998 Eurovision Song Contest
1999 World Judo Championships
WWF Rebellion 1999
2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships
Davis Cup tennis matches
BBL Cup and BBL Finals Weekend matches
Many basketball, powerlifting, table tennis, and wrestling competitions
The British games company Games Workshop used the arena to stage their Games Day and Golden Demon events until 2003, when they moved to the larger National Exhibition Centre.
The British Indoor Rowing Championships since 2000
The Gladiators television programme from 1992 to 2000
The All England Open Badminton Championships from 1994 to present day.
WWE Raw on the Survivor Series 2005 Tour.
WWE Raw, ECW and SmackDown television taping on 15 October and 16 October 2007
2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships
Michael Flatley's Stage Show, Celtic Tiger - DVD recording
UFC 89
BAMMA 4
2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship
2010 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships

References

^ "The NIA Factsheet" (PDF). Retrieved 30 March 2011.
^ http://www.necgroup.co.uk/venues The NEC Group Venues
^ "Venue Information". thenia.co.uk.

External links

Preceded by Pavilhão Atlântico Lisbon	IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics Venue 2003	Succeeded by Budapest Sports Arena Budapest
Preceded by Palacio de Deportes de la CAM Madrid	European Indoor Championships in Athletics Venue 2007	Succeeded by Oval Lingotto Turin
Preceded by Point Theatre Dublin	Eurovision Song Contest Venue 1998	Succeeded by International Convention Center Jerusalem

Template:Eurovision Song Contest venues

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[1] "The NIA Factsheet" (PDF). Retrieved 30 March 2011.

[2] ttp://www.necgroup.co.uk/venues The NEC Group Venues

[3] "Venue Information". thenia.co.uk.

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