US based promoters AEG and the German division of mobile firm O2 have announced a new partnership which will see the two companies collaborating on the build and launch of a new 17,000 capacity entertainment and sports arena in Berlin, to be known as O2 World. The venture is similar to that previously reported partnership here in the UK where AEG and O2 are collaborating on the revamp and relaunch of London's Millennium Dome.
The Berlin arena will cost an estimated 150 million euros to build, and will host a range of music, entertainment and sports events, with the two partners hoping to attract in excess of three million visitors to over 300 events in the arena's first three years in business.
Needless to say given the corporate sponsor, the new venue will engage in a number of mobile based initiatives, including the option to transmit alerts and recordings direct to people's mobiles within the complex. Confirming the new partnership, O2 Germany CEO Rudolf Groger told reporters: "We believe that this is a major step for the whole industry, not just for O2, and demonstrates that future growth lies in retaining and attracting customers through collaborations between telecommunications companies and the entertainment industry".
The Berlin venue should be ready to open in 2008, while the O2 sponsored AEG run Millennium Dome should open next year.