NEC NAME CHANGE AS COUNCIL LOANS £25 MILLION

03-07-2008

Birmingham City Council is lending £25 million to the NEC Arena to fund a major upgrade which will see the venue changing its name. From the autumn, it will become known as the LG Arena in honour of the global electronics giant.

The Arena which attracts more than one million visitors a year to a wide range of concerts and events will have a major revamp of its seating, hospitality, bars, restaurants and other customer facilities. Backstage will be tarted up too.

Overall capacity is being increased by 2,000 but work will also be carried out to make it more flexible to create smaller, more intimate spaces.

As well as the Council’s £25 million loan, the NEC is also bidding for a £3million grant from Advantage West Midlands.

The debt will be serviced by enhanced revenues – so taxpayers in the city will be praying it pays off, especially at a time when we appear to be heading towards a recession.

The NEC has been open for 28 years, but as the loss of the Motor Show to London proved a couple of years ago, competition is becoming ever more intense.

Does it matter that the Arena has changed its name? And is the Council right to loan £25 million?

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