The University of Worcester Arena, commonly referred to as Worcester Arena, is a multi-purpose sports venue and events arena in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The 2,000-seat capacity venue opened in April 2013 and is the home arena of

Worcester Wolves The Worcester Wolves are a basketball club in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The team plays in the National Basketball League (England), NBL Division 2, the third tier of British basketball. The club was formed in 2000, and from 2006 u ...

basketball team, whilst also being a national centre of excellence for disability sports. Plans for the construction of a new sports arena were first unveiled in January 2010 after the

University of Worcester The University of Worcester is a public research university, based in Worcester, England. With a history dating back to 1946, the university began awarding degrees in 1997 and was granted full university status in 2005. History In 1946 an Emerg ...

had purchased land on Hylton Road used previously as a fruit and vegetable market. Initial reports indicated the capacity of the new venue would seat 1,500 people, cost £10 million and would be due to open in the Spring of 2012. Willmott Dixon was appointed as the project's developer, working alongside architect Roberts Limbrick. Construction of the sports arena started in early 2012 and was due to be completed by January 2013 but several delays during construction meant that the opening of arena was setback until April 2013. The University of Worcester officially announced the opening of the new sports arena on 12 April 2013, completed at a cost of £15 million. The first event to be staged at the arena was the 2013 Netball Superleague Grand Final which saw

Team Bath Team Bath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, Team Bath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper o ...

defeat Celtic Dragons 62-56. 1,509 spectators attended the inaugural event, which was heralded as a resounding success by local media. Worcester Wolves made their first official appearance at their new home on 4 October, marking the occasion with a 73–61 victory over the reigning

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...

champions

Leicester Riders Leicester Riders are a British professional basketball team and the oldest club in the British Basketball League (BBL). Riders compete in the Super League Basketball (SLB). Established in 1967, the club have played in various locations around L ...

References

External links

University of Worcester Arena
{{coord, 52.1927, -2.2317, region:GB-WOR_type:landmark, display=title Basketball venues in England Sports venues in Worcestershire Indoor arenas in England Netball venues in England 2013 establishments in England University and college basketball in the United Kingdom University sports venues in the United Kingdom University and college netball in the United Kingdom