The SPICE Arena is an

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

located in the township of

Bayan Baru Bayan Baru is a town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, adjacent to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. The township was created in the 1970s following the establishment of the zone. ...

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It serves as Penang's main indoor sports centre as well as the preferred venue within the city-state for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE). Originally named the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA), the complex initially consisted of an indoor arena and a swimming centre. Since its completion in 2000, PISA has hosted national and international sports events, including the

2000 Sukma Games The Sukma Games ( ms, Sukan Malaysia, lit.: Malaysian Games) is a biennial national multi-sport event involving young athletes from Malaysian 13 member states and the Federal territory. The games is regulated by the National Sports Council of M ...

, the

2001 Southeast Asian Games The 2001 Southeast Asian Games ( ms, Sukan Asia Tenggara 2001), officially known as the 21st Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was the fifth time that Malaysia plays as SEA Games ...

and the

2013 Women's World Open Squash Championship The 2013 Women's World Open Squash Championship is the women's edition of the 2013 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place at the PISA Stadium in Penang in Malaysia from 14 March to ...

. Between 2011 and 2017, PISA underwent major renovation works conducted by

S P Setia S P Setia Berhad (formerly Syarikat Pembinaan Setia Berhad) (MYX: 8664) is a Malaysian publicly traded company whose primary business is in property development. It is the largest such company, by sales, in Malaysia. It's other businesses inclu ...

, a major Malaysian property developer. The refurbished indoor arena, renamed as the SPICE Arena, is now supplemented in its role as a MICE venue by the new RM284 million SPICE Convention & Exhibition Centre. In addition, the renovation project included the upgrading of the swimming centre, now known as the SPICE Aquatic Centre, which was completed in 2016.

History

The Penang International Sports Arena (PISA), along with its adjacent aquatics centre, was completed in 2000 in time for the

Sukma Games The Sukma Games ( ms, Sukan Malaysia, lit.: Malaysian Games) is a biennial national multi-sport event involving young athletes from Malaysian 13 member states and the Federal territory. The games is regulated by the National Sports Council of ...

, a biannual national-level multi-sports tournament. At the time, PISA served as the venue for basketball and swimming events. In the following year, PISA became the venue for the

wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport), a modern exhibition of traditional Chinese martial arts * Wushu stances, five key stances utilized in both contemporary wushu and traditio ...

and

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

events of the 2001 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). PISA was one of the three SEA Games venues within

, while the majority of the other sporting events were held in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. Another international sports event that was held within PISA is the

, which included among its participants

Nicol David Datuk Nicol Ann David (born August 26, 1983) is a retired female Malaysian professional squash player. Beginning in August 2006, David was the world number one for a record-breaking 108 consecutive months, finally ceding the ranking in Septemb ...

, the Penang-born squash player (and world number 1 at that point).

Renovation

In 2011, a public-private partnership project was undertaken between the Penang Island Municipal Council (now

Penang Island City Council The City Council of Penang Island is the council that administers the city of Pulau Pinang, which includes the entirety of Penang Island, Malaysia. The city council, which has jurisdiction over an area of , falls under the purview of the Penang ...

) and SP Setia, a major Malaysian property firm, for the renovation and upgrading of PISA. SP Setia would bear most of the estimated RM300 million cost for the project, and would be given a 30-year concession to manage and maintain SPICE prior to its eventual handover to the Penang Island City Council. A total of RM22 million was spent on the renovation of PISA, which was subsequently renamed the SPICE Arena. Renovation works had to be carried out intermittently, as the venue remained open for

MICE A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

events. Meanwhile, the newly-refurbished SPICE Aquatic Centre was opened to the public in 2016. In 2017, the SPICE Convention & Exhibition Centre, which has an internal capacity of , was launched. Aside from these facilities, SPICE Canopy, the retail component of the project, was also completed in 2015. A four-star hotel situated adjacent to these facilities is currently under construction. The hotel is scheduled for completion by 2019.

Facilities

SPICE Arena

The SPICE Arena, with an internal space of , can accommodate 10,000 guests in a terrace-style seating arrangement, or 180 exhibition booths. The arena's capacity is further boosted by the Concourse at Level 3, which can sit a further 250 booths.

SPICE Convention & Exhibition Centre

The new SPICE Convention & Exhibition Centre, which can accommodate up to 400 banquet tables or 8,000 theatre-style seats, complements the existing SPICE Arena in its role as a MICE venue. Its grand foyer adds to its capacity by another 150 round tables. It also has 13 function rooms of varying sizes. Notably, the GBI-certified SPICE Convention & Exhibition Centre is the world's first hybrid solar-powered convention centre, with electricity being generated from a solar farm on the SPICE Aquatic Centre. The building incorporates energy conservation practices as well, with 654 energy-efficient light bulbs illuminating its roof. Moreover, the building houses the largest urban spice farm in Malaysia, which is sited at its rooftop along with a playground for

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

children.

SPICE Aquatic Centre

The upgraded SPICE Aquatic Centre, which was opened in 2016, contains a wide variety of sports amenities, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a diving pool and a water them park for children, as well as badminton courts and squash courts. The centre also comes with function rooms, a cafe, a sports clinic and a swimming school. The solar farm on the rooftop of the SPICE Aquatic Centre and the SPICE Canopy is the largest commercial solar

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...

farm in

, capable of generating up to 980 MW hour of electricity in a single year.

SPICE Canopy

The SPICE Canopy is the retail component of the renovation project by SP Setia. Launched in 2015, it consists of 59 leasable retail spaces.

Notable events

The Penang International Science Fair is held at the arena every November. QNET - VCON 2015/16/17/18/19 & 2022 * G.E.M. – Queen of Hearts World Tour (30 June 2018) *

Joker Xue Joker Xue (, born 17 July 1983) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and record producer. Formerly known as Jacky Xue, Xue is known for his hit songs and stage charisma with his signature musical style. Since his 2006 debut, Xue has produced a string ...

– Skyscraper World Tour (14 February 2019)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.setiaspice.com/ Southwest Penang Island District Indoor arenas in Malaysia Badminton venues in Malaysia Squash venues in Malaysia Sports venues in Penang 2000 establishments in Malaysia