Odyssey Arena

The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with the Pavilion later opening in 2001. The Odyssey Arena celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010. The Odyssey is quoted to have cost £120 million on completion.

Events

Since opening, the Odyssey Arena has hosted some of the world's best known bands and artists from around the world. Here are some of the artists that are scheduled to perform at the venue in the near future:

It has also hosted a number of World Wrestling Entertainment live events including RAW and SmackDown!. WWE visits the Odyssey at least once a year. It hosted UFC 72: Victory on 16 June 2007.

It's also hosted Premier League Darts the last three years.

As well as these high-profile sporting events, the Odyssey Arena has also hosted concerts by some of the best-selling music artists in the world and it's also home of the Belfast Giants.

Janet Jackson was scheduled to perform during her All for You Tour on 14 December 2001, but the show was cancelled, due to the 11 September 2001 attacks.

On 2 October 2010, the Boston Bruins faced the Belfast Giants Selects in an NHL Challenge match.

The Odyssey was short-listed for 'International Large Venue of the Year' (Outside of North America) in the 2005 Pollstar Concert Industry Awards, making it one of the top six major concert venues in the world.^[1][2]

The complex features:

• The Odyssey Arena – Northern Ireland's biggest indoor arena, with a capacity of 14,000 for concerts^[3], hosts concerts and sporting events such as Belfast Giants games.
• W5 – stands for "Who, What, Where, When, Why". W5 is an award winning science exhibition centre demonstrating the powers of science.
• The Odyssey Pavilion – contains Bars: Rockies Sports Bar, Chic Shed Bar. Restaurants: Soda Joes, Pizza Hut, Indian Ocean, The Streat, Red Panda, La Tasca. Nightclubs: Box Nightclub, Beach Club, Precious Nightclub. The Odyssey Bowl and Odyssey Cinemas (formerly Storm cinema, Vue) 12–screen multiplex.
• A Sheridan IMAX operated in the complex from 2000 until 2007, with its former location remaining vacant as of 2011.

In October 2009, The Odyssey Trust sought planning permission for a £100 m extension plan. The plans include 800 residential units, two hotels, a promenade, shops, additional leisure facilities and a multi-storey car park.^[4] As to date no work has been carried out on the extension plan.

On 2 March 2011, MTV announced it would be hosting its annual European Music Awards in The Odyssey Arena. The event took place on Sunday 6 November. It was the first time the event had been hosted in Northern Ireland, and Belfast was the smallest host city in the EMA's history. It was also named MTV'S most successful EMA awards show.

References

External links

• Official website