Shanghai, "the city that never sleeps", has added yet another glistering jewel in its crown - a top-notch cultural, entertainment and sporting arena.

And after 2011, the place will become a landmark and iconic spot for National Basketball Association (NBA) stars such as Houston Rocket's Yao Ming and his NBA pals, and world-class big-name pop stars.

All these were made possible, with the world's leading automobile brand Mercedes-Benz recently obtaining the naming rights of the arena, for a 10-year period from 2011, when the Shanghai Expo ends.

Mercedes-Benz Arena

The Mercedes-Benz Arena, currently under construction, will serve as the Expo Performance Center during the half-year expo period next year, and become yet another fashion and sporting icon of Shanghai after 2011, with joint input from Mercedes-Benz and world-class culture and sports entities Oriental Pearl Group (OPG), AEG, a US-based sports and entertainment presenter, and the NBA.

It will be the first such entertainment and sporting arena in China to have a naming rights partnership, and it is the only Mercedes-Benz named-venue outside Germany, where the auto company is headquartered.

"The new Mercedes-Benz Arena will reinforce Shanghai as a culturally-rich city on the world map and create a new destination for arts and lifestyle on the international stage. This reconfirms our continued commitment to arts and cultural development in the Chinese market," said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.

"For us, it is really important that everyone can regard our products as the masterpieces of cars. Just like those masterpieces of arts and sports, it's part of our corporate culture. That's why we have been very close to supporting the arts and sports communities in China."

Since the formation of their joint venture to develop the arena, Mercedes-Benz, OPG, AEG and the NBA have been working together to bring a wide variety of events including sports, live entertainment, special performances, trade shows and conventions to the venue.

According to John Cappo, president and CEO of AEG China, the arena, jointly operated by his company and the partners, will become a "complete lifestyle destination and a great platform for brands and marketers to communicate directly with their target customers".

"The arena is where the icon of motion will meet the icon of entertainment. This is history in the making," he added.

Designed by Shanghai Xiandai Architectural Design Group, the 18,000-seat multi-purpose Mercedes-Benz Arena will light up the city as the region's most technologically-advanced venue, featuring an array of fan amenities never before seen in China that will make the guest experience second-to-none. The state-of-the-art amenities will include 82 luxury suites, VIP clubs, food and beverage options, and top-notch acoustics, stage-systems and lighting.

The world-class venue will host leading music and cultural events, basketball games, other sporting events and lifestyle and family shows that will feature the very best Chinese, Asian and other renowned artists, teams and performers from around the world.

Aside from large-scale entertainment, the people of Shanghai will be able to make their trips to the arena on a daily basis as the venue features a six-screen movie cineplex, a public ice skating rink, a bowling alley, a live music club and 20,000 sq m of mixed use retail space.

The arena will also feature a 1,000-sq-m Mercedes-Benz retail center where visitors can learn more about the culture and heritage behind the automotive brand.

Long-term support

Mercedes-Benz Arena further reaffirms the automobile company's continuing commitment and support for the development of culture, arts and sports in China, according to Maier.

Music and sports are indispensable elements of the Mercedes-Benz core values. In more than a century of history, the German company has built a strong tradition of supporting music and arts. Mercedes-Benz incorporates its understanding of arts into the design and research and development of its products, which breeds a unique brand and products.

"As part of the commitment to this market, Mercedes-Benz not only bring advanced products to China, but also hope to share top culture and arts events that are in line with the customers' lifestyles," said Maier.

For instance, Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed a successful partnership with the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA), China's most prestigious art performing venue, located in Beijing, over the past two years in jointly contributing to the development of arts and culture in China, and also sponsored a series of concerts, including the recent Asian tour of Yo-yo Ma, a world well known China-born cellist.

Continuous support to culture and arts demonstrates Mercedes-Benz's pursuit and unique understanding of top culture and arts as well as an elegant lifestyle, according to Maier, who added that Mercedes-Benz is a combination of technology and arts, and that design is closely related with arts.

The German luxury automaker is always devoted to promoting leading culture and classic arts with its brand personalities constantly refreshed to further promote Mercedes-Benz lifestyle - one that is premium and progressive, the company said.

Having set new sales milestones one after another during the year in the emerging market, Mercedes-Benz obtained an unprecedented year-on-year growth of 224 percent in November to deliver nearly 8,500 units - marking its highest growth and sales volume since entering China.

The automaker has counted total sales from its four flagship brands of Mercedes-Benz, Smart, AMG and Maybach in the first 11 months to almost 59,200 units with a 68 percent increase compared with same period last year.

(China Daily 12/21/2009 page10)