Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Wukesong goes from basketball to Beyoncé

By Liu Yiyu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-10-20 16:06

US singing star Beyoncé's "I AM…" World Tour will be staged at Beijing's Wukesong Arena following a NBA preseason game, taking place in the same building several days after the Olympic-style stadium was renovated into China's first ever multi-purpose center for sports and cultural events.

Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center Co (BWCSC), which is in charge of the stadium's operation, said it aims to "build Wukesong Arena into China's Staples Center, the world-class arena for sports and entertainment events". For a start, the company plans to hold 100 shows annually.

Wukesong Arena had been under renovation since it served as the stadium for all basketball games for the Beijing Olympics last year. The renovation was carried out as the construction standard of an Olympic stadium is inconsistent with a commercial stadium serving as a multi-purpose venue for various shows, BWCSC added.

In order to build the first NBA style multi-purpose arena in China, the projector's developer— Huaxi International Investment Group—invested 200 million yuan ($299.32 million) for the year-long renovation project. It also brought in NBA China and AEG, the leading sports and entertainment presenter, to provide professional services.

Related readings:  Bird's Nest open to public for free  China's Bird's Nest to host Italy's Super Cup  Olympic venues to become hot spots during National Day holiday  Olympic venue to host 'crown jewel' of WTA in 2009

The BWCSC, a subsidy of Huaxi International Investment Group, NBA China and AEG formed a strategic partnership in 2008 to design and operate the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena (BOBA).

According to the BWCSC, the renovated Wukesong Arena has a capacity of 18,700 with 2,500 club seats, 9,600 lower bowl seats and 48 private suites. In addition to restaurants, concession facilities will be distributed throughout the public concourse. The interior of the arena is designed not only to host basketball games including NBA games, but also world-class concert tours, fashion shows, theatrical and family shows, and regional and local events. The court can also be converted into a regulation 30m-by-60m "sheet" of ice that can accommodate local and international ice events including hockey, figure skating competitions and ice shows.

The arena's renovation is only in phase one, as the 3 million square feet ChangAn mall and three office towers are on the developer's blueprint as well,according to BWCSC.