It has been revealed this morning (06/06) that LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Birmingham will open in 2018.
Construction of the unique 3,300 m² square foot indoor attraction, based on the popular LEGO® brick, will begin later this year within the Barclaycard Arena.
Specifically designed for children aged 3-10 to enjoy with family and friends LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham will guarantee 2/3 hours of, highly interactive and educational fun! This includes a range of exciting LEGO play areas, interactive rides, master classes from the LEGO Master Model Builder, special party rooms for birthdays and other celebrations, a 4D cinema and, of course, the popular MINILAND area found in every LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and LEGOLAND theme park. Unique to every attraction, MINILAND reflects the iconic buildings of each individual location so will be all about Birmingham, and the local community will even have a chance to nominate local landmarks in a contest to be announced at a later date.
Owned and operated by UK based global leisure company Merlin Entertainments plc (Merlin), LEGOLAND Discovery Centres are some of the company’s most popular attractions around the world. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham will be Merlin’s second Discovery Centre to open in the United Kingdom behind Manchester, and the twentieth Discovery Centre globally.
John Jakobsen, Chief New Openings Officer at Merlin Entertainments, said: “The LEGOLAND Discovery Centre concept has been a huge success across the globe. Uniquely, and most importantly it was always conceived and designed from a child’s perspective so it is a very special place, offering an opportunity for adults and younger children to spend fun, quality time together.”
“The Barclaycard Arena is an exciting destination with a strong tourist proposition, and in an area where we have first-hand experience through operating the SEALIFE Centre in neighbouring Brindleyplace. This attraction will be only the second LEGOLAND Discovery Centre to open in the UK, the other is in Manchester. These two indoor attractions together with our very popular LEGOLAND Windsor Resort reflect the insatiable appetite for everything LEGO in the UK. Most importantly when the new Birmingham attraction opens in 2018 it will underline our mission to bring joy to families across the world through educational LEGO play.”
Paul Thandi, NEC Group CEO, said: “Merlin’s LEGOLAND Discovery Centre will be an important addition to the leisure and entertainment facilities already provided by the Barclaycard Arena and will offer a number of valuable benefits including job creation and by contributing to the overall tourism and leisure offer in the region. It will also complement the venue’s existing, exciting events programme, giving our customers even more reasons to visit.
“Across the NEC Group we’re focused on creating destinations of the future and we’re committed to connecting our audiences with great content – like LEGOLAND Discovery Centre – and creating unforgettable live experiences. Working with Merlin to open this attraction is a major step forward as we evolve our leisure and entertainment strategy and together with Merlin’s SEALIFE Centre, we’re further extending the offer in Brindleyplace – a popular destination that already welcomes around 4,600,000 visitors per year.”
