The Wukesong Arena (simplified Chinese: 五棵松体育馆; traditional Chinese: 五棵松體育館; pinyin: Wǔkēsōng Tǐyùguǎn), also known as the Cadillac Arena (simplified Chinese: 凯迪拉克中心; traditional Chinese: 凱迪拉克中心; pinyin: Kǎidílākè Zhōngxīn) for sponsorship purposes, is a multipurpose indoor arena in Beijing. It was originally built for the 2008 Summer Olympics basketball preliminaries and finals. Ground was broken on 29 March 2005 and construction was completed on 11 January 2008.
五棵松体育馆（凯迪拉克中心） | |
 Exterior of arena (2021) | |
 | |
| Former names | Wukesong Culture & Sports Center (2008–2011) MasterCard Center (2011–2015) LeSports Center (2016–2017) Huaxi Live (2017) Cadillac Arena (2017–present) |
|---|---|
| Address | 69 Fuxing Road |
| Location | Haidian District, Beijing, China |
| Coordinates | 39°54′36″N 116°16′29″E / 39.9099889°N 116.274664°E |
| Public transit |  Wukesong 1 |
| Owner | Bloomage International Investment Group |
| Operator | AEG |
| Capacity | 19,000 9,000 (ice hockey) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 29 March 2005 |
| Opened | 11 January 2008 |
| Renovated | 2009 |
| Closed | October 2008 – November 2009 |
| Architect | Gu Yonghui |
| Tenants | |
| Beijing Ducks (CBA) (2010–present) HC Kunlun Red Star (KHL) (2016–present) Beijing Lions (CAFL) (2016) | |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
The stadium has a capacity of 19,000 and covers an area of 63,000 square metres. It includes a modern, flexible ice hockey rink designed and produced by Finnish rink manufacturer Vepe Oy in November 2016.
In 2022, the arena hosted some of the ice hockey matches as part of the 2022 Winter Olympics.[1]
History
editThe stadium was constructed by "Beijing Wukesong Cultural & Sports Co. Ltd." whose five shareholders are Zhongguancun CENCONS Group, Haidian State-owned Assets Investment Co. Ltd, Beijing Urban Construction Group Co. Ltd, Beijing Urban Construction Co. Ltd and the Tianhong Group. After the Olympic Games, the center became an important part of Beijing's Olympic Games heritage, allowing citizens to enjoy cultural, sports, leisure, recreational, and commercial activities. It was a large-scale comprehensive project, rare in Beijing in integrating cultural, sporting, and commercial purposes with large-scale gardens and green spaces.
On 6 January 2011 MasterCard Worldwide, the rival of Olympic sponsor Visa, announced the acquisition of the naming rights to the center. It was renamed MasterCard Center effective from 21 January 2011. Nearly five years later, on 16 December 2015, LeTV Sports announced that it has obtained naming rights for the arena. It was officially renamed as LeSports Center on 1 January 2016. Beyond that, LeSports promised to provide a package of intellectual services inside and outside the arena.[2] After the closing of LeTV Sports, the arena was briefly named Huaxi Live.[3] Since September 2017, the Cadillac division of General Motors has owned naming rights for the arena.[4]
On 14 December 2015 the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) announced that its Beijing expansion team would play in the arena. On 5 September 2016, Kunlun Red Star defenseman Anssi Salmela scored the first goal in the arena's first hockey game and the first home goal for Kunlun in KHL. Red Star won the game 6–3.
In 2017, 18,000 people attended the Chinese Basketball Association All-Star Game at the LeSports Centre.[citation needed]
Sporting events
edit| A list of sporting events held at Wukesong Arena | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Date | Event |
| 2008 | 17 October | NBA Global Games: Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks[5] |
| 2009 | 11 October | NBA Global Games: Indiana Pacers vs. Denver Nuggets[5] |
| 2010 | 13 October | NBA Global Games: Houston Rockets vs. New Jersey Nets[5] |
| 2012 | 11 October | NBA Global Games: Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Clippers[5] |
| 2013 | 15 October | NBA Global Games: Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers[5] |
| 2014 | 15 October | NBA Global Games: Brooklyn Nets vs. Sacramento Kings[5] |
| 25 November | M-1 Challenge 53 – Battle in the Celestial Empire | |
| 2017 | 23 September | NHL China Games: Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks |
| 2018 | 24 November | UFC Fight Night 141 |
| 2019 | 16 November | ONE Championship: Age of Dragons[6] |
| 31 August–15 September | 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup: Several matches, including the final | |
| 2022 | 3–17 February | 2022 Winter Olympics: Women's Ice Hockey |
Entertainment
editThe Wukesong Arena is the biggest entertainment venue in Beijing, with many international, regional and local artists having staged their performance at the venue that spans a wide range of musical genres. International artists are highlighted using light blue in the table while non-concert entertainment events are also included.
| A list of entertainment events held at Wukesong Arena | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Date | Nationalities | Artists | Tours |
| 2008 | 6 October | Canada | Avril Lavigne | The Best Damn World Tour |
| 1 November | United States | Kanye West | Glow in the Dark Tour | |
| 2009 | 23 October | United States | Beyoncé | I Am... World Tour |
| 2010 | 23 January | South Korea | Super Junior | 2nd Asia Tour – "Super Show 2"[7] |
| 14 March | United States | Backstreet Boys | This Is Us Tour | |
| 11 July | United States | Usher | OMG Tour | |
| 2011 | ||||
| 2 January | Taiwan (ROC) | Fei Yu-ching | 2011费玉清北京演唱会 | |
| 21 January | Hong Kong | Jacky Cheung | Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour | |
| 12 March | United States | Eagles | Long Road Out of Eden Tour | |
| 26 March | South Korea | Rain | 2011 Rain Asia Tour | |
| 7 May | — | The Girls Collection | ||
| 13 May | Glorious Days – Pantheon Rock "n" Roll World Tour Concert | |||
| 21 May | China (PRC) | Dao Lang | de Show Beel Live in Concert 2011 | |
| 27 May | Hong Kong | Aaron Kwok | 郭富城武林正传世界巡回演唱会 | |
| 28 May | ||||
| 3 June | Taiwan (ROC) | Chyi Yu Michelle Pan Tiger Huang One-Fang |
Power Woman | |
| 18 June | Taiwan (ROC) | Wakin Chau Jeff Chang Chyi Chin Chao Chuan Dave Wang Angus Tung |
老友记六人行2011北京大型演唱会 | |
| 16 July | Taiwan (ROC) | Elva Hsiao | E!VA萧亚轩WOW世界巡回演唱会-北京站 | |
| 25 September | Ireland | Westlife | Gravity Tour | |
| 2012 | 14 February | Canada | Avril Lavigne | Black Star Tour |
| 22 February | Ireland | Westlife | Greatest Hits Tour | |
| 12 March | Sweden | Roxette | Charm School World Tour | |
| 6 April | Canada | Sum 41 | Screaming Bloody Murder Tour | |
| 7 July | South Korea | Shinhwa | Grand Tour: The Return[8] | |
| 8 August | South Korea | Big Bang | Alive Galaxy Tour | |
| 25 November | United Kingdom | Elton John | 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man Tour | |
| 2013 | 24 March | Canada | Simple Plan | Get Your Hearts on Tour |
| 4 May | South Korea | G-Dragon | One of a Kind World Tour | |
| 5 May | ||||
| 13 April | — | The 1st V Chart Awards | ||
| 25 May | United States | Backstreet Boys | In a World Like This Tour | |
| 28 June | United Kingdom | Sarah Brightman | Dreamchaser World Tour | |
| 20 July | South Korea | Shinhwa | Grand Tour: The Classic[9][10] | |
| 9 August | — | Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour | ||
| 10 August | ||||
| 11 August | ||||
| 22 August | United Kingdom | Pet Shop Boys | Electric Tour | |
| 29 September | Canada | Justin Bieber | Believe Tour | |
| 1 October | United States | The Killers | Battle Born World Tour | |
| 2014 | 4 February | United Kingdom | James Blunt | Moon Landing Tour |
| 2 March | Canada | Avril Lavigne | The Avril Lavigne Tour | |
| 5 April | United States | Bruno Mars | Moonshine Jungle Tour | |
| 19 April | South Korea | 2NE1 | All or Nothing World Tour | |
| 16 May | Hong Kong | G.E.M. | G.E.M. X.X.X. LIVE 世界巡回演唱会北京站 | |
| 17 May | ||||
| 30 May | China (PRC) | Wanting Qu | 2014曲婉婷say the words 我为你歌唱 中国巡回演唱会 | |
| 31 May | ||||
| 18 July | Taiwan (ROC) | Jeff Chang | "华素 还爱光年" 世界巡回演唱会 | |
| 2 August | Taiwan (ROC) | S.H.E | 2GETHER 4EVER 世界巡回演唱会 | |
| 3 August | Taiwan (ROC) | Mayday | Just Love It 拥抱演唱会 | |
| 6 September | China (PRC) | Hua Chenyu | 华晨宇火星演唱会 | |
| 7 September | ||||
| 13 September | Singapore | Yida Huang | 黄义达十周年纪念演唱会 | |
| 20 September | China (PRC) South Korea |
Exo | Exo from Exoplanet #1 – The Lost Planet | |
| 21 September | ||||
| 25 October | China (PRC) | Yang Kun | 杨坤"今夜20岁"北京演唱会 | |
| 22 November | South Korea | Super Junior | Super Show 6 | |
| 2015 | 14 January | — | Golden Disk Awards | |
| 15 January | ||||
| 1 April | United States | Pitbull | 2015 World Tour | |
| 18 April | United States | Backstreet Boys | In a World Like This Tour | |
| 9 May | Singapore | JJ Lin | Timeline：Genesis World Tour | |
| 6 June | South Korea | Big Bang | Made World Tour | |
| 7 June | ||||
| 13 June | China (PRC) | Bibi Zhou | BOOM! | |
| 18 July | China (PRC) South Korea |
Exo | Exo Planet #2 – The Exo'luxion | |
| 19 July | ||||
| 19 September | United Kingdom | Muse[11] | Drones World Tour | |
| 2016 | 10 April | — | The 4th V Chart Awards | |
| 24 April | United Kingdom | Iron Maiden[12] | The Book of Souls World Tour | |
| 2 July | China (PRC) | Hua Chenyu | Mars Concert Season 3 | |
| 3 July | ||||
| 8 July | Taiwan (ROC) | Jay Chou | The Invisible Show Tour | |
| 9 July | ||||
| 10 July | ||||
| 16 July | South Korea | Big Bang | Made V.I.P Tour | |
| 17 July | ||||
| 24 September | Hong Kong | Wallace Chung | Sing For Live | |
| 6 October | United States | Kesha | Kesha and the Creepies: Fuck the World Tour | |
| 21 October | Hong Kong | Jacky Cheung | A Classic Tour | |
| 22 October | ||||
| 23 October | ||||
| 2017 | 18 January | United States | Metallica | WorldWired Tour |
| 17 June | China (PRC) | Joker Xue | 薛之谦"我好像在哪见过你"巡回演唱会 | |
| 26 August | United States | Ariana Grande | Dangerous Woman Tour | |
| 2018 | 7 May | United States | Fall Out Boy | Mania Tour |
| 19 May | Singapore | JJ Lin | Sanctuary World Tour | |
| 20 May | ||||
| 6 September | United Kingdom | Jessie J | R.O.S.E Tour | |
| 2019 | 23 February | China (PRC) | Rocket Girls 101 | 2019火箭少女101北京飞行演唱会-Light |
| 10 August | Taiwan (ROC) | Fei Yu-ching | 费玉清2019告别演唱会 | |
| 13 August | Ireland | Westlife | The Twenty Tour | |
| 2023 | 23 September | Ireland | Westlife | The Wild Dreams Tour |
| 24 September | ||||
| 2024 | 5 April | Hong Kong | Jacky Cheung | The Jacky Cheung 60+ Concert Tour |
| 6 April | ||||
| 7 April | ||||
| 12 April | ||||
| 13 April | ||||
| 14 April | ||||
| 19 April | ||||
| 20 April | ||||
| 21 April | ||||
Baseball field
editThe Wukesong Baseball Field (simplified Chinese: 五棵松棒球场; traditional Chinese: 五棵松棒球場; pinyin: Wǔkēsōng Bàngqiúchǎng) was a baseball stadium located next to the Wukesong Indoor Stadium at the Wukesong Culture and Sports Centre in Beijing, China. It was one of the nine temporary venues at the 2008 Summer Olympics, hosting baseball events.
The baseball field had a total land surface of 12,000 square metres and a capacity of 15,000. It included two competition fields and one training field.
In March 2008, the stadium hosted two games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres called the MLB China Series, marking the first time Major League Baseball teams played in China.
In what were to be the final Olympic Baseball matches in the foreseeable future, as the International Olympic Committee voted out the baseball event for the upcoming 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in favor of golf and rugby sevens,[13] Team USA clinched the bronze medal, while South Korea beat Cuba to claim the gold medal.[14] After the Olympic games ended, the facilities were demolished as planned, for a shopping mall called Bloomage LIVE · HI-UP.[15][16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Lloyd, Owen (16 November 2021). "Wukesong Arena to showcase the "best ice" at Beijing 2022, American ice-maker claims". Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ "LeTV Sports to Name Beijing Wukesong Arena". CRIENGLISH.com. 18 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ Liu, Charles (18 July 2017). "Wukesong Arena Newly Renamed as "Huaxi Live" as LeTV's Financial Woes Continue". The Beijinger. True Run Media. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Cadillac Named Title Sponsor of Wukesong Arena in Beijing". 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "NBA.com: NBA Global Games 2013: History of NBA Global Games". NBA.com. NBA. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ "Age of Dragons". 30 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ Kang, Seung-hun (26 January 2010). "Super Junior wraps up concert in Beijing". Asiae. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ "2012 Shinhwa Grand Tour: The Return 신화 아시아 투어 콘서트 일정" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Shinhwa Company. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-13 (in Korean)
- ^ 神话备战北京演唱会 娱乐综艺"让道". Sina (in Chinese). 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (22 July 2013). "Shinhwa Burns Up the Night in Beijing and Wraps Up Asia Tour". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
- ^ "Beijing Events – the Beijinger". www.thebeijinger.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Iron Maiden – To Play in China For First Time Ever – Metal Storm". www.metalstorm.net. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ^ "Castro blasts Olympics for dropping baseball – Beijing Olympics – NBCNews.com". NBC News. 16 July 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "Photos: ROK glitters on diamond – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games". En.beijing2008.cn. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011.
- ^ http://www.baltimoresun.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/maryland/bal-sp.maese22aug22,0,7134288.column [dead link]
- ^ Demick, Barbara (22 February 2009). "Beijing's Olympic building boom becomes a bust". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
External links
edit Media related to Cadillac Arena at Wikimedia Commons
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | FIBA World Cup Final venue 2019 |
Succeeded by Mall of Asia Arena
Pasay |