NEC's LG Arena fitted with larger seats to cope with fat pop fans
Latest NHS figures show more than 500 people in the area needed stomach stapling operations, or had to have part of their tummy removed in just a year because they were dangerously overweight.
Obesity costs Birmingham health services more than £316 million a year, and will rise to £351 million by 2015.
More doctors and dieticians are having to be recruited – and a 15- month-old baby boy weighing a hefty 3st 3lb became the youngest patient to be treated by obesity doctors at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has been forced to adapt three ambulances to cope with patients weighing more than 19 stone.
And some hospitals have had to buy super-sized, reinforced beds.
The bigger seats at the LG Arena are just one of a host of improved facilities audiences can look forward to when the venue reopens for business on October 7 with the Horse of the Year show.
Capacity
The capacity of the arena has been boosted to 15,700, the number of loos has been doubled, and the walkways around the seating have also been doubled in width to ease the crush that used to occur.
Clever planning means that seats will seem closer to the stage, there is a new hospitality show-deck with private bar from which premium-paying fans can watch the action, and new-look bars and outlets.
But the biggest change is in a huge pre- and post-show entertainment area dubbed ‘forumLIVE’.
What used to be a barn-like entrance area has been transformed into a club-style food and drink zone.
A chic bar, restaurant, coffee shop and VIP area rub shoulders with a deli, champagne bar, cheese and wine bar and fast food outlets offering everything from balti and pizza to hotdogs, fish and chips, all freshly cooked in expansive new kitchens.
Entry into the arena is now through a nightclub-style “walk of fame” and a huge sculpture, details of which are being kept under wraps, will provide both a focal and talking point.
Throughout the new-look LG Arena more than 100 TV screens and four giant projectors will beam entertainment and information.
“It is the combination of things such as seating, views of the stage, the number of toilets and hospitality offering that make the difference to a visitor’s experience,” added Mr Mead. “We have taken these into account in every step of the redesign.
“We know they are going to be blown away as soon as they set foot inside.
“The LG Arena is going to become a place for an entire night out rather than just a concert.’’
