Utilita Arena Birmingham — Attraction in Birmingham

Went to a gig there Monday evening... The car parks are really poorly laid out, very narrow with awkward corners (and we've got a small car), parking spaces are tight. Really annoying that when you pay for your parking online in advance you still are not guaranteed a space on the day.

On to the event. Really poorly signposted for where you need to queue to get in. We ended up waiting in the queue for people with accessibility issues for 20 minutes before a member of staff said we had to use another entrance. We had to queue alongside the canal which has so many safety issues. It was pouring with rain, the path was treacherous and really narrow due to the queue. It's also a public walkway/cycle way so that was interesting when they had to manuvere past the queue! Amazed that they can make you queue there, especially with children in the queue too!

The security staff outside the venue were really arsy, just no need for that at all!! My Husband, Daughter and I went through the metal detectors almost at the same time, my small cross body bag set off the detector, but they didn't check it, even when I asked, they were very arsy and just told me to get out of the way!! Ummm... I've got the QR code on my phone so we need to stay together?!

There was no customer service/care at all which is just awful. Inside the venue there were loads of bars/soft drinks/sweets/ice cream/slushy's/milkshake and hot food... However, my husband's burger and chips were £18, he said the burger was ok (not worth the money they were charging), the chips were burnt, cold and horribly sweet... NO VEGGIE FOOD OPTIONS!!!! Seriously, it was like stepping into the dark ages (like being a veggie in 1990!), hot dogs or burger were the only choices. Luckily, I had eaten before we left home.

A small bottle of still water was £2.90 so expensive, but not terrible. I bought a cocktail, that was £10, but I justified it as cheap compared to the cost of the food 😂

The band's were amazing, but overall the sound quality was pretty poor which was a real shame. We still had an amazing evening though.

Trying to get out of the car park at the end was hideous, but to be expected I guess.

Navigating through Birmingham was surprisingly pain free - we arrived at about 5.30pm. It's the first time I've been through the centre and as cities go (I'm not a fan in general, too much traffic on the roads, too many people), it was pretty nice. 2 large parks right in the centre which was nice. Driving home at 11pm ish the roads were really quiet which was nice.

So, would I go to that venue again? All of the staff outside need some customer service training... Badly! Staff inside were really nice. They need more choice of hot food, and it would be nice if it was actually hot. They need to rethink their queue locations, and better sign posting for the entrances as it just looked to us like you could access the venue from the car park which would make more sense! They certainly had enough staff on, some of the outside staff seemed to just be stood about not up to much.

I'm not sure I would go to see another band there due to the sound quality. If I did visit again, I would be sure to find food elsewhere, and wherever that was it is sure to be much better...

We've had a very unpleasant evening at the NIA Birmingham. I do not recommend going unless you are with a group of people. We had booked tickets in October (in advance) to see Ocean Colour Scene. As we don't go out very often, and had not been to a concert in years. This was our first one as a couple. We were really looked forward to it. We have both suffered losses within our family in 2024, so this something that could have been special for us as a couple. We don't smoke, vape, drink much or take drugs. Infact we both have very good careers. We had watched two of the warm bands come on sleeper and kular shakers and later went to the toilet. The show was on break, as they were setting up the stage for the next act and we were sat on the edge of the stairs. We were asked to get down, so we did. However, we did lean up against a rail as my feet were hurting. Little did I realise that this would become a big serious issue with security. We were asked to walk in the middle of the areana to which we did. As we were walking away from the security man that told us originally to move away. He got my boyfriends attention by grabbing him by the shoulder and my boyfriend answered him in a professional manner. Next minute he is saying that my boyfriend is arguing with him and radios 8-10 people to assist. We were escorted into the foyaer, and as I asked to speak with a manager or head of security. We could not explain our situation to them. It seemed to me that there was no empathy or little understanding. It wasn't even investigated correctly in my opinion. We didn't even have anyone advise if we would like to make a complaint. My boyfriend is very tall, and I think because of this we were scrutinised. The female security staff instructed for 6-8 men to get my boyfriend on the floor? Treating him as if he had committed a crime. You wouldn't treat an animal like this. They wouldn't give the name of their security staff. I was pulled away from my boyfriend and I was told that I could go back in but not boyfriend? I was so frightened to the point, it has traumatised me. I told them I'd call the police, if they didn't let me get out of the building to go home with my boyfriend. The woman even had her hands on my shoulders pushing all her heavy weight on me. Infact she's hurt my shoulder and I've had to take medication through it. Little did I know, what they were doing to my boyfriend. They could have caused him a serious brain injury or it could have been fatal. The security have ripped his brand new shirt. The whole situation has frightened me to the point, that I don't want to go see a concert again or go out especially in the centre of Birmingham. We were meant feel safe knowing that their is security people there but i have never felt so vulnerable in all my life. I just didn't feel safe. In the end, obviously with having no empathy from this security company we lost our money and we never got to see Ocean Colour Scene. I am absolutely devasted and now I've had to have time off work to recover from the injury to...

There are definitely some pros to this venue. It is very central, easy to get to, and the on site car park makes driving in convenient. Just make sure to pre book and get there early for a decent spot.

However the venue itself really lets things down, especially when it comes to organisation and customer care.

I went to see Iron Maiden and they were amazing. I have also seen Sabaton and Kiss here before, but those shows were nowhere near as busy. This time it honestly felt like they had oversold tickets. It was packed and the venue clearly could not cope.

We attended on one of the hottest days of the year, and the queues for the toilets were ridiculous. Even worse were the queues for the water refill point, which actually stretched outside the building. It was clear the venue had no real plan to manage heat, hydration, or crowd flow.

I was told I could only fill half my cup with water because the queues were getting too long. I am sorry but that is not the customer’s fault. It is the venue’s job to be prepared and have enough resources in place. That kind of restriction is completely unacceptable, especially in the heat.

Tempers were flaring, and understandably so. Staff were getting the brunt of the frustration, and to make matters worse, people who had stepped out to get water were being refused re entry to the main hall and told to go all the way around to the rear. This left friends and family separated and waiting inside with no idea what was going on.

At the end of the night the poor planning continued. The outside area was still lined with barriers, creating a bottleneck of people trying to leave. If those barriers had been moved it would have been far easier and safer for people to exit.

And do not get me started on the drinks. £7.50 for a small can of warm cider and £8.50 for beer. That is just daylight robbery. You should be ashamed of those prices.

I have been to many shows here over the years and while I have always loved the performances I have also come away with a list of frustrations every single time. It is getting to the point where I genuinely do not want to return. The people using this venue always feel like an afterthought and that is just not...