Arena competition in the north of England has intensified with the grand opening of the £60m Leeds Arena and the reopening of the refurbished Sheffield Arena in the space of just a week.

The First Direct Arena Leeds, which opened 4 September, is a 13,500-seater, located in the city centre and took two years to build.

Leeds City Council estimate the new arena will bring an additional £25.5m into the city a year in addition to being key driver in the creation of jobs, training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The Sheffield Arena has undergone a £3.5m refurbishment with saw the construction of a new roof and replacement of all 12,500 seats plus a refurbishment of facilities. Sheffield Arena officials are hoping that the works will help keep the arena competitive against the new Leeds venue.

For nearly two decades, the Motorpoint Arena (formerly the Hallam FM arena) has been the only major concert and sporting venue in the Yorkshire region, with the opening of the Leeds Arena, the Sheffield venue now faces direct competition.

The Motorpoint Arena brought more than 700,000 people to events over the past year, while the First Direct Arena is expected to boost visitor numbers to Leeds by one million annually.