History
It was built for the 1934 British Empire Games, by Arthur Elvin, and originally housed a swimming pool, as reflected by its former name, Empire Pool. The pool itself was last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics. The building is used for music, comedy and family entertainment and for sport.
The venue was renovated, along with Wembley Stadium, as part of the early-21st-century regeneration of the Wembley area. The arena refurbishment cost £35m and the new arena opened to the public on 2 April 2006, with a concert by the English electronic-music band Depeche Mode.
With 12,500 seats, it is London's second-largest indoor arena after The O2 Arena and third-largest indoor concert venue after the O2 and Earls Court Exhibition Centre, an exhibition hall which regularly stages concerts.
Read more about this topic: Wembley Arena
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too much about it.”
—Lytton Strachey (1880–1932)