ETHIAS ARENA-GRENSLANDHALLEN
[BIZ/LEI: Hasselt, November 26] Audiences throughout Europe will also have seen flashes of life in Hasselt, which formed the continuity between the young singing acts. So, it was not only the delightful little winner, Kseniya Sitnik, from Belarus who filled the screen, but also images of the fashion museum, the Japanese garden and surely we must have seen something from the jenever (gin) museum. The show was hosted by Maureen Louys, a Liégeoise living in Brussels, and Marcel Vanthilt, with great aplomb. Hasselt’s exhibition and conference center, the Grenslandhallen, came into use in 1983 but over the past three years it has seen enormous growth. In March, the Ethias Arena, the Plaza, the Studio, and Artist’s Foyer were completed and in April 2004 development started on the Plopsa Indoor Hasselt, which is scheduled to open on December 1. In 2005 there were 82 major events at the Grenslandhallen and Ethias Arena and 95 are expected for 2006. In terms of visitors: 443,000 came in 2001; in 2002, this was 518,000; 630,000 in 2003; 750,000 are expected for 2005 and the target for 2006 is one million. Visitors come from all over. The Grenslandhallen and the Plopsa extend across an area of 40,152m2. The Ethias Arena, covering 13,600m2, is becoming a top European venue and capacity can range from 3,000 to 21,500 visitors. The Congres Theatre can seat 1,750, which is in line with major venues like the City Theatre in Antwerp, the Casino Kursaal in Ostend, and the Capitool in Ghent. The Studio has room for 3,500. The Plopsa Indoor offers relaxation for the whole family. In a three-year period the location will have seen an investment of EUR 30,548,231, 73.7% of which came from private funding. It also provides considerable direct and indirect employment. The location on the main E314 and E313 highways, means that access from Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, Maastricht, Aachen, and Cologne is excellent.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest, with its 80m viewer potential in 16 European states, was held in the Ethias Arena at the Grenslandhallen in Hasselt on November 26. The audience of more than 16,000, in the presence of Prince Laurent and Governor Steve Stevaert certainly made an impact guaranteed to reinforce the image of the Limburg brand.
http://www.grenslandhallen.be