Cardiff International Arena


Cardiff International Arena is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena located in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, and was opened on 10 September 1993 by singer Shirley Bassey. Its current name is due to a five-year sponsorship agreement. It is Cardiff's largest purpose-built exhibition facility. The upstairs of the building is known as the World Trade Centre.

History

The arena was opened on 10 September 1993, by Shirley Bassey, in front of 5,500 fans. The concert was later televised on BBC One on 30 July 1994.
On 1 March 2011, the Cardiff International Arena was renamed Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, for sponsorship reasons, after the car sales company entered into an agreement regarding the naming rights to the Arena for five years in what was called "a seven-figure investment". Other names who have performed in the arena are among Westlife, Kylie Minogue, One Direction, Jessie J, Anastacia, JLS, Jason Derulo and Mariah Carey. The arena is owned by the US media giant Live Nation UK.
In March 2015, the venue's 3000th event was marked by a show headlined by singer Katherine Jenkins. In July 2016, Motorpoint extended its naming rights contract with the arena until at least 2021. This will include a complete re-branding of the building including installation of outdoor LED signage on the arena's towers.

Facilities

The Main Arena offers 4,500 square metres of exhibition space, and is very versatile, for the number of different events that take place at the Arena. Full capacity can reach 7,500, in a standing layout and 5,000, for a fully seated event.
There are over 30 additional areas, including a conference suite and four executive boardrooms.

Comedy

Comedian Lee Evans has brought four tours XL Tour, Big, Roadrunner and Monsters to the arena, Evans played his last show before retiring from stand-up at the Arena from 24 to 30 November 2014.

Music

The venue has hosted a number of concerts since it opened, with artists such as Sigrid, George Ezra, Richard Ashcroft, Mumford & Sons, Two Door Cinema Club, Fatboy Slim, The 1975, Bring Me The Horizon, Mariah Carey, Céline Dion, George Michael, Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Metallica, Enrique Iglesias, The Script, New Kids on the Block, Take That, Paloma Faith, Craig David, Gary Barlow. Avril Lavigne, Liam Gallagher, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Dio, Meat Loaf, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Gabrielle, LeAnn Rimes, Culture Club, Jessie J, Steps, Little Mix, Anastacia, Fifth Harmony, Ellie Goulding, Olly Murs, Ella Eyre, John Newman, Westlife, Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, The Killers, Biffy Clyro, The Prodigy, The Nolans, The Beach Boys, McFly, Panic at the disco and local favourites Catatonia and the Manic Street Preachers taking to the stage.

Sport

In 1999, the Cardiff International Arena hosted the World Professional Pool Championship. The official WPA World Nine-ball Championship was hosted at the Cardiff International Arena between 2000 and 2003.
Since 2007, the Arena has been one of the Premier League Darts venues, including the semi-finals and finals night of the 2008 Premier League Darts on 26 May 2008. The PDC Champions League of Darts was held in the arena in 2016 and 2017.
In February 2015, the Welsh Open snooker championship was transferred from the Newport Centre to the Arena.

Professional Wrestling

In 2019, WWE's NXT UK brand announced the venue would host the second ever TakeOver event for the brand,. This took place on August 31, 2019 and was the first TakeOver to take place in Wales.

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