Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centre. Opened in 1991, it is used for concerts and sporting events, and is also home to the Sheffield Steelers ice hockey club. Attendance for all events at the venue has totalled around 14 million since its opening. It has a maximum capacity of 13,600. History Constructed at a cost of £34 million, it was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 30 May 1991 as Sheffield Arena. The first concert took place that evening, Paul Simon playing as part of his "Born at the Right Time" tour. The arena then took on the role of Gymnastics Hall for the 1991 World Student Games which were held in the city and which prompted the investment in, and development of, both the arena and nearby Don Valley Stadium. Since the venue opened in 1991 the arena has averaged 122 shows a year with over 650,000 customers passing through the doors each year. The Arena was the location of the infamous Labour Party Sheffield Rally during the 1992 United Kingdom general election which was widely criticised for being prematurely triumphalist. The arena was renamed Hallam FM Arena in 2002, but returned to its original name from 1 November 2007. On 9 August 2010, Sheffield Arena was officially renamed Motorpoint Arena Sheffield, after the Derby based car sales company invested £1 million to rename the venue. In August 2015 the arena was once again rebranded as Sheffield Arena, however in September 2017 nearby Doncaster Sheffield Airport began sponsoring the arena giving it a rebrand, FlyDSA Arena. In 2021, Utilita Energy took over sponsorship of the arena. The arena underwent a major renovation installing a new roof, doors, seats, lighting, catering and toilet facilities in July 2013. In 2013 the arena was ranked as the 18th most popular arena in the world and this was in the year that the building was closed for over 2 months to enable the multi-million pound refurbishment of the venue. More recently, in 2019, Pollstar ranked the arena at 65th worldwide and 7th in the UK as part of their 'Top 200 Arena Venues' with 311,125 tickets sold, up 5 places from 70th in 2018. COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the car