SSE Arena, Belfast

The Odyssey Complex, consisting of Odyssey Place and the SSE Arena, is a sports, entertainment and science learning complex located within the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The concept of the complex originated in 1992 and was finalised in June 1998. It opened in December 2000, with expansions in March and May 2001. The complex consists of a multipurpose indoor sports arena, a "hands-on" science learning centre, retail facilities and a large car park.

As of , the Odyssey Place area of the complex houses Cineworld, Hollywood Bowl, The Lost City Adventure Golf Apocalypse, W5, Funstation and a range of restaurants, shops and bars.

History

The Odyssey Centre was 50% funded by a £45m grant from the Millennium Commission as part of the Landmark Project for Northern Ireland, with matched funding from the Department of Education for Northern Ireland, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The application to the Millennium Commission was led by the Ulster Museum, which wished to develop a science centre and teamed up with Peter Curistan, who wished to develop an IMAX, and then led the development of the arena with consultants L&R Leisure. The name "Odyssey" was chosen to symbolise the 'journey of discovery' that would be the science centre; Michael Montgomery, a 14-year-old at the time, came up with the name. The complex adopted the name, and the Science Centre became W5.

The arena opened in 2000, and W5 on 31 March 2001, with the pavilion opening a few months later. The Odyssey is quoted to have cost £120 million to complete. The whole complex Odyssey was held in trust by the Odyssey Trust Company, with leases to SMG/Sheridan for the arena, Sheridan for the pavilion, and National Museums Northern Ireland for W5. In 2011, the Odyssey Trust fully took over the arena. In 2011, the Odyssey Pavilion, which was owned by the Sheridan Group, went into administration, and the building went under the control of KPMG temporarily until energy company SSE purchased it. It is managed by the Odyssey Trust.

Facilities

SSE Arena, Belfast

The SSE Arena was known as the Odyssey Arena from 2000 to 2015. Northern Ireland's biggest indoor arena, with a capacity of 11,000+ for concerts, hosts concerts and sporting events such as Belfast Giants games. On 25 June 2015, it was announced the Arena would undergo a £3 million refurbishment and become the SSE Arena on 4 September 2015, with the naming rights to last for 10 years.

Sports

Since opening, the SSE Arena has been the home to the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League team, the Belfast Giants. The Belfast Giants play weekly home games against teams from across the U.K. between September and March of each year. On 2 October 2010, the Boston Bruins faced the Belfast Giants 'Selects' in an NHL Challenge match.

The venue also hosts a number of live sporting events including WWE which brings superstars from ''WWE Raw'' and ''WWE Smackdown'' brands so wrestling fans are able to watch their favourites perform live. On 16 June 2007, the SSE Arena hosted the UFC 72: Victory as they continued their expansion into Europe where the live events were broadcast on pay-per-view in North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

World Champion Boxer Carl Frampton has also fought at the SSE Arena. His first fight at the venue was in 2010 when he won the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title by a fourth-round TKO stoppage against Mark Quon. Carl Frampton has continued to fight in the SSE Arena, Belfast up until 2018 and helped promote Northern Ireland by using it as the venue for his matches

Since 2008, the venue has also played host to the Premier League Darts.

Odyssey Place

Formerly known as the Odyssey Pavilion, Odyssey Place houses multiple shops, restaurants, cafes, entertainment venues and leisure facilities. The major redevelopment of Odyssey Place sees two new major companies entering the space. The previous Odyssey Cinema's space will now be home to world's second largest cinema chain Cineworld who will be redeveloping and entering the space of the previous Sheridan IMAX cinema. The Odyssey Bowl is home to arcade games, bowling alleys and a restaurant will re-launch itself after being purchased by the Hollywood Bowl Group, while Zizzi, Nando's and Five Guys will open restaurants. It is Cineworld and Hollywood Bowl's first ventures in Northern Ireland.

In 2024, Odyssey Place announced that Mary Brown's, Funstation and new concept bar called Chapter & Verse will open new stores in the area during 2024. A Little Wing pizzeria is also set to open in the same area in the coming months.

The Odyssey Pavilion was once home to a thriving nightlife, including bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. Notable examples include Rockies Sports Bar, Bar 7, Box Nightclub, The Chic Shed, and Beach Nightclub. Several food companies were situated in The Pavilion including Soda Joes, Red Panda, La Tasca and The Streat Cafe alongside two well-known food chains including Northern Ireland's own Indian Ocean restaurants and Pizza Hut; as well as the centre's Warner Village cinema, which surprisingly still operated after the chain got purchased by Vue in 2004.

W5

W5, which stands for "Who, What, Where, When, Why", was developed by Sally Montgomery, the Ulster Museum's project director (and then founding CEO), with the exhibitions being designed by Hands On Inc (Florida, United States), and the Ontario Science Centre, Canada. W5 has roughly 250 interactive exhibits, along with 6 themed exhibitions, in 3500 square metres of exhibition space, workshop space and lecture theatre.

W5 was a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Museums Northern Ireland until 31 March 2012 when it became a subsidiary of Odyssey Trust. W5 has won a number of awards, including Best Visitor Attraction, several times. In 2013, W5 opened 'Climbit', the biggest Luckey Climber in Europe where small children can climb up twelve metres in total safety.

Future

In October 2009, the Odyssey Trust sought planning permission for a £100m extension plan. The plans included 800 residential units, two hotels, a promenade, shops, additional leisure facilities and a multi-storey car park. On 29 November 2013, the owners of the Odyssey secured planning permission for an extension to include hotels, shops and apartments; work was due to start immediately, with around 800 people set to work on construction of the scheme – described as the biggest redevelopment in Belfast in years. Odyssey Trust's plan was to build next to the existing Odyssey Arena and Pavilion as part of the restart of the Belfast master plan. In October 2017, it was announced that planning permission had been submitted to transform the complex in a £10m refurbishment. Plans included a new entrance to the Odyssey Pavilion, upgrade of public realm spaces, and reconfiguration of existing retail units. A second phase would see improved visitor access and greater use of the central open space.

Awards

In 2006, the Odyssey Arena was shortlisted for 'International Large Venue of the Year' (over 8,000 seats) outside of North America. This took place at the 17th Annual Pollstar Awards in 2006. This shortlisting made the Odyssey Arena one of the top six major concert venues in the world.

The SSE Arena, Belfast, has won the ‘App of The Year’ at the 2017 DANI (Digital Advertising Northern Ireland) Awards.

Transport

The complex is located in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. It is a 15-minute walk from the city centre, over the Lagan Weir and Queen Elizabeth Bridges. Visitors are also able to access it via services provided by Translink NI. Glider (Belfast) is the newest way to access the arena from the city centre. The Glider Bus route 'G2' travels from the city centre to the Odyssey bus stop which allows users to depart right outside of the venue. Metro (Belfast) service '94' takes users from Donegall Square North, just outside the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre, to the venue with stops immediately outside. The Titanic Quarter railway station is only a 10-minute walk away from the Arena and Titanic Belfast visitor centre. The arena is located across the bypass bridge and off of Sydenham Road after exiting the railway station.

References

External links

SSE Arena, Belfast Official Website

Odyssey Pavilion Official Website

W5 Official Website

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Buildings and structures completed in 2001
Music venues completed in 2001
Sports venues completed in 2001
Ice hockey venues in the United Kingdom
Buildings and structures in Belfast
Indoor arenas in Northern Ireland
Music venues in Belfast
Buildings and structures celebrating the third millennium
Concert halls in Northern Ireland
2001 establishments in Northern Ireland
Darts venues
21st-century architecture in Northern Ireland