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Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
city centre and
Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...
town centre. Opened in 1991, it is used for concerts and sporting events, and is also home to the Sheffield Steelers
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
club. Attendance for all events at the venue has totalled around 14 million since its opening. It has a maximum capacity of 13,600.


History

Constructed at a cost of £34 million, it was opened by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
on 30 May 1991 as Sheffield Arena. The first concert took place that evening,
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...
playing as part of his "Born at the Right Time" tour. The arena then took on the role of Gymnastics Hall for the 1991 World Student Games which were held in the city and which prompted the investment in, and development of, both the arena and nearby
Don Valley Stadium Don Valley Stadium, England, was a stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, completed in 1990, and hosted the 1991 World Student Games. It was named after the nearby River Don. The stadium was demolished in 2013. The stadium and facilities were ...
. Since the venue opened in 1991 the arena has averaged 122 shows a year with over 650,000 customers passing through the doors each year. The Arena was the location of the infamous Labour Party Sheffield Rally during the
1992 United Kingdom general election The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect List of MPs elected in the 1992 United Kingdom general election, 651 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The governing Con ...
which was widely criticised for being prematurely triumphalist.Alyssa McDonal
"The NS Interview: Neil Kinnock"
''New Statesman'', 29 April 2010
The arena was renamed
Hallam FM Hits Radio South Yorkshire, formerly Hallam FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire and Chesterfiel ...
Arena in 2002, but returned to its original name from 1 November 2007. On 9 August 2010, Sheffield Arena was officially renamed Motorpoint Arena Sheffield, after the
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
based car sales company invested £1 million to rename the venue. In August 2015 the arena was once again rebranded as Sheffield Arena, however in September 2017 nearby Doncaster Sheffield Airport began sponsoring the arena giving it a rebrand, FlyDSA Arena. In 2021, Utilita Energy took over sponsorship of the arena. The arena underwent a major renovation installing a new roof, doors, seats, lighting, catering and toilet facilities in July 2013. In 2013 the arena was ranked as the 18th most popular arena in the world and this was in the year that the building was closed for over 2 months to enable the multi-million pound refurbishment of the venue. More recently, in 2019,
Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. ''Pollstar'' holds an annual award ce ...
ranked the arena at 65th worldwide and 7th in the UK as part of their 'Top 200 Arena Venues' with 311,125 tickets sold, up 5 places from 70th in 2018.


COVID-19 pandemic

During the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
, the car park of the arena was used as a drive-through
phlebotomy Phlebotomy is the process of making a puncture in a vein, usually in the arm, with a cannula for the purpose of drawing blood. The procedure itself is known as a venipuncture, which is also used for intravenous therapy. A person who performs a ...
service operated by
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a combined acute and community NHS foundation trust in Sheffield, England. Founded in 2001 and awarded foundation status in 2004, the trust covers most of Sheffield's adult community servi ...
, the first of its kind in the country. This allowed patients to attend for routine blood tests from within the isolation of their cars, reducing the requirement for patients to attend GPs or hospital clinics. The drive-through phlebotomy service opened on 8 April 2020 for patients with underlying health conditions, and was expanded to become available to all patients in the Sheffield area on 27 April. The drive-through was deemed such a success that it was turned into a permanent service, relocating first to a warehouse next to the Sheffield Parkway before settling into a permanent site next to the
Northern General Hospital The Northern General Hospital is a large teaching hospital and Major Trauma Centre in Sheffield, England. Its departments include accident and emergency for adults, with children being treated at the Sheffield Children's Hospital on Western Ba ...
after the end of the pandemic. To support the rollout of the local COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the Sheffield NHS Vaccination Centre opened at the arena on 25 January 2021, taking up the space previously occupied by the drive-through phlebotomy clinic before its relocation. The vaccination centre remained open until 26 July, when it was relocated to the former
NHS Blood and Transplant NHS Blood and Transplant is an executive non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom's Department of Health and Social Care. It was established on 1 October 2005 to take over the responsibilities of two separate NHS agencies: UK Transplan ...
building next to the Northern General Hospital to allow the arena to reopen for its usual events. In April 2020, the interior space of the arena was used as a storage location for 1,800 additional
hospital bed A hospital bed or hospital cot is a bed specially designed for hospitalized patients or others in need of some form of health care. These beds have special features both for the comfort and well-being of the patient and for the convenience of h ...
s which were being delivered to hospitals in Sheffield to support pandemic operations. Photographs of the hospital beds inside the arena later leaked onto social media, and the local NHS trust issued a statement denying rumours that the arena was going to be repurposed as a Nightingale temporary hospital. In August 2020, an
ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
clinic was opened inside the arena featuring eye imaging suites, remaining in operation until the arena reopened for normal usage after the pandemic.


Events


Music

Sheffield's own Arctic Monkeys broke the Arena ticket sales records when they instantly sold out over 13,600 tickets for their date at the arena in November 2013. The previous record of 13,300 was held by fellow Sheffield band Pulp in December 2012. The venue's record attendance for a seated music concert is currently held by Little Mix when 12,485 customers attended their Get Weird Tour Saturday 23 April 2016. The record for most shows in Sheffield Arena is held by Irish boyband
Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
with 32 shows played to date. British-Irish boy-band,
One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...
played their last concert, before going on an indefinite hiatus, on 31 October 2015 at the Arena. The arena held from somewhere between 35,000-37,000 people raising over 3 million dollars.


Comedy

The arena is a regular venue for some of the world's best known Comedians such as
Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...
, Lee Evans, Jack Whitehall,
Eddie Izzard Suzy Eddie Izzard ( ; born Edward John Izzard, 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomi ...
and
Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...
who in 2011 played the arena for 5 nights running with all shows selling out within hours of going on sale. In June 2018 Michael McInytyre broke the venue's record attendance for a seated comedy show when his Big World Tour played the FlyDSA Arena on Saturday 23 June 2018 in front of 12,347 fans


Sheffield Steelers

The arena is the home to the city's
Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...
team, the Sheffield Steelers, who began to play at the arena in 1991. Whilst the standard capacity for ice hockey at the arena is around 9,300, the Steelers have recorded crowds of over 10,000 in the building with extra seating being installed at the venue. In 2019 the Steelers were the highest ranked team in the UK in terms of attendance and 35th in Europe drawing an average crowd of 6,045 to the arena. The first ever competitive Sheffield Steelers game at Sheffield Arena took place on Sunday 6 October 1991, when the Steelers were held to a 3–3 draw against Chelmsford Chieftains in front of 300 spectators. However, the first Ice Hockey game played at the Sheffield Arena took place on Thursday 26 September 1991 when Durham Wasps beat a Sheffield Steelers select 7–1 to win the World Leisure Cup. Durham's Rick Brebant scored the first goal at 2:18 in front of an estimated crowd of 2,000. In February 2020 it was announced that the arena had secured planning permission to install a new 22-ton machine to make production of the ice surface more cost-effective and environmentally friendly.


Disney On Ice

Disney On Ice holds the record for the most performances & customers of any touring show to perform at the Arena. Feld Entertainment has promoted the show every year since the building opened over November/December. As of 2013 there have been 260 performances seen by 1.3 million customers.


Other events

The arena was the location for the Labour Party's 1992 Sheffield Rally. Attended by over 10,000 party members and the entire shadow cabinet. Held just before that year's general election, which Labour was widely expected to win, the event is often seen as a factor in the party's defeat. While the event was seen as a success to those within the hall, many commentators, and Labour politicians, viewed it as triumphalist in nature. However, it has also been asserted that the event had negligible impact on the outcome, with a fall in the party's support having already occurred. TV shows such as ''The X Factor'', '' Britain's Got Talent'', ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
'' and ''
Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...
'' visit the arena every year as part of their tours. It hosted the BBC revival of '' Gladiators'' in 2023 and will host it again on select dates during August 2024; the arena previously hosted the live show during Easter 1995. The arena has hosted major special high-profile events, including The
International Indian Film Academy Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) is an annual awards ceremony for Hindi cinema. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for their favourite a ...
, which took place on Saturday, 9 June 2007 and was broadcast live around the world. This included a season hosted by the city of
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
and nearby
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. Also, in 2009, the arena hosted the annual
BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...
concert and the 2009
BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just a single award of the same name. Several new awards have been introduced, and cu ...
. The arena has hosted major boxing events such as when
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified and lineal titles at super-middleweight, and ...
first won his WBO world title here on 11 October 1997 against former world champion
Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (also Christopher Livingstone Eubank Sr. born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight and super-middlewei ...
. On the same bill Sheffield born
Naseem Hamed Naseem Hamed (Arabic: نسيم حميد; born 12 February 1974), nicknamed Prince Naseem and Naz, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2002.Davies, Gareth A (8 June 2015)"Prince Naseem Hamed: 'I always thought they w ...
defended his WBO title against Jose Badillo. On 26 November 2005
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and boxing trainer, trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world champi ...
extended his unbeaten record to 40–0, defending his IBF and Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight world titles and winning the WBA belt by 9th-round knockout against Carlos Maussa.
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
fighter Clinton Woods also defended his IBF light-heavyweight title against Mexican Julio César González on two occasions, winning on points both times.
Kell Brook Ezekiel "Kell" Brook (born 3 May 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified middleweigh ...
has had many fights here, his most notable being a fourth-round knockout victory of Vyacheslav Senchenko. The
Great Britain men's national basketball team The Great Britain men's national basketball team (also known as GB Basketball or GB) represents Great Britain in international basketball competitions. The national team is administered by British Basketball. The current governing body for the ...
played a test match against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
in that arena in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. As well as being home to the Sheffield Steelers the venue has also hosted other ice hockey events such as the 2019 Super Series between USA and Canada featuring many ex-
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
stars and has acted as a neutral site for the EIHL
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
final The arena has hosted many
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
events held by companies including
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, NXT and 5 Star Wrestling over the years dating as far back as the
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
UK Rampage events in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
and
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
Since 2007, it has played host to the Premier League Darts. Every year students from both Sheffield Hallam and The University of Sheffield assemble to watch the final game of their varsity play out as both universities ice hockey teams play and the stadium fills to capacity.


Management

ASM Global has taken over the operation of Utilita Arena Sheffield and Sheffield City Hall, starting in January 2025. This marks a new chapter for both venues, with ASM Global aiming to reimagine the Utilita Arena as a world-class touring destination.


Transport


Road

The arena is easily accessible by road with the nearest motorway junctions being Junction 34 of the M1 if approaching from the North and Junction 33 of the M1 if approaching from the South. The arena has parking for around 1,200 cars which is often available to pre-book in advance at a discounted rate


Tram

The arena is accessible via the Sheffield Supertram with the primary stop, Arena / Olympic Legacy Park, being served by both the Yellow Route and Tram Train. The Valley Centertainment entertainment complex nearby provides a secondary stop for the arena, Valley Centertainment, which is also served by the Yellow Route and Tram Train. This stop has Park & Ride facilities


Train

There are 3 train stations that are connected to the arena by Supertram –
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
,
Meadowhall Interchange Meadowhall Interchange is a transport interchange located in north-east Sheffield, consisting of a combined railway station, heavy rail station, tram stop and bus station, bus and coach station. The second-busiest heavy rail station in the cit ...
and Rotherham Central – as well as nearby Darnall which is a 5-minute drive from the arena


Bus

The arena is serviced by many bus routes (including X1 Steel Link) stopping at the Sheffield Arena and/or Arena Square stops nearby


References


External links

* {{Authority control Attercliffe Basketball venues in England Buildings and structures in Sheffield Indoor arenas in England Ice hockey venues in England Sheffield Sharks Sports venues in Sheffield Darts venues Sports venues completed in 1991 1991 establishments in England Music venues in South Yorkshire Music venues completed in 1991