Ricoh Arena gears up for hottest summer ever

Ricoh Arena is already gearing up for its hottest summer in history as it prepares to welcome a record 200,000 visitors through its doors in June 2019.

Stadium bosses have secured a stellar line-up of music and entertainment acts in June 2019 which will see up to 200,000 people pass through the turnstiles within a three-week period.

The Spice Girls bring their Spice World – 2019 UK Tour to Coventry on Monday 3 June and to meet demand, announced an additional date of Tuesday 4 June.

A two-day music festival called Soundscape Weekender – featuring rock and indie acts on day one followed by chart-topping artists on day two including global superstar DJ David Guetta – arrives at Ricoh Arena on Saturday 15 June and Sunday 16 June.

Clean Bandit, Years and Years, Anne-Marie, Mabel and Rak-Su are among the other acts that have been confirmed with even more to be announced in the New Year.

Musical icon Bon Jovi will also be rocking Ricoh Arena on Sunday 23 June when he returns to the venue for the third time with his This House Is Not For Sale tour.

And earlier this month it was confirmed that one of the world’s biggest live motorsport events – Monster Jam - will be coming to Ricoh Arena on Saturday 8 June in what will be the first time ever in Coventry.

Once the concert season is over, there is no rest for the hard-working venue staff.  They will then start to prepare for GOLIATH, thought to be the world’s largest poker tournament, which welcomes over 6,000 players to the region in July.

Nick Eastwood, Chief Executive for Ricoh Arena and Wasps, said: “We’ve had big gigs in the past, but never such a busy and varied programme which just shows that Ricoh Arena is now one of the jewels in the UK’s live entertainment crown.

“The summer months are when we can bring the stadium bowl alive with a variety of events to complement the diversity that is offered all year round by the Ericsson Indoor Arena, which hosts conferences, exhibitions, sporting events and intimate gigs.

“This venue has proven its capability of creating some magical musical moments to rival the sporting occasions but the challenge for us is to create more of those on a frequent basis every year, so we are delighted with what we currently have lined up for June.

“It will bring people to the city and region in unprecedented numbers and that is not only good for us, but the area’s economy. Hotels, pubs, restaurants and taxi firms will all flourish as a result of these events.

“It also shows how UK and global promoters now see Ricoh Arena as a ‘go-to’ venue on the UK touring circuit. This backs up comments made by the Rolling Stones promoter last year that their visit to Coventry was one of the best nights of the tour in terms of atmosphere and logistics – but most importantly, they know that we can sell tickets thanks to the support of the region’s music fans.

“Add this to the venue’s existing 1.6 million annual visitors and it makes Ricoh Arena one of the best attended venues in Europe”.

The historic month comes as the venue has made six-figure investments to transform Ricoh Arena into one of the UK’s best-connected digital venues.

This includes a super-wide, 188-square-metre screen that has been switched on inside the stadium bowl, as well as the installation of lightning-fast wi-fi to enable tens of thousands of visitors to stream content on their mobile devices at once.

Developments have also been made to Ricoh Arena’s online ticketing system with 3D functionality, enabling users to see the view from their seat before purchasing their tickets.

“Bringing bricks and mortar to life is going to be key for event venues moving forward as the boundaries between people’s phones and the world around them converge,” added Eastwood.

“People want new experiences when attending events and investing in digital channels allows Ricoh Arena to have the right infrastructure in place to enable event organisers to immerse gig-goers, sports fans and business professionals in their event.

“We’re excited about Monster Jam as this has never been held at Ricoh Arena before – reinforcing the venue as one of the most flexible in the UK.”

For more information about upcoming events at Ricoh Arena visit www.ricoharena.com.