Three-company Joint Presentation on TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT

Tokyo, Japan, August 29―Toyota Motor Corporation, TOYOTA FUDOSAN CO., LTD. and Toyota Alvark Tokyo Corporation held a joint presentation on TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT. The video of the joint presentation is available below.

Presentation

Shigeru Hayakawa

Good afternoon. I am Shigeru Hayakawa, Vice Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation. Thank you for joining us today. We also thank all of you who are participating online today.

Today's presentation is intended to explain the ideas and concepts behind the TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT, a redevelopment project for the site of the former MEGA WEB that we will be undertaking together, as you saw in the video earlier.

I, Hayakawa of Toyota Motor Corporation, would like to share my thoughts on the project. President Yamamura of TOYOTA FUDOSAN will talk about the arena that will be the stage for this project, and President Hayashi of Toyota Alvark Tokyo will speak about the vision of the arena.

I would first like to talk a little about Toyota's relationship with sports.

It started when Kiichiro Toyoda, Toyota's founder, established the track and field club in 1937, the year the company was founded, 85 years ago.

At a time when the Japanese people were told that they could not make automobiles, Kiichiro seemed to believe that the power of sports was also needed when taking up his massive dream of building an automobile industry.

The basketball club, predecessor of Alvark Tokyo, was founded in 1948, 74 years ago. (*Correction: In the presentation, it was stated: "in 1941, 81 years ago.") Today, athletes belonging to 33 sports clubs, including seven representative sports clubs, and athletes in individual sports, including many Para-athletes and others, are performing with the support of many people inside and outside the company such as their workplaces and local communities.

Toyota has thus been inspired by sports whenever it has confronted adversity. At such times, there have been athletes who continuously tackle challenges, exceed their limits, show us potential, and encourage us.

As for the relationship between sports and Toyota, President Akio Toyoda, who supports all kinds of sports on a daily basis and is very much looking forward to this arena project more than anyone else, has always said,

"In the 13 years since I became president, the company has faced repeated crises, including falling into the red, a large-scale recall, and the Great East Japan Earthquake, but the Toyota sports clubs have given us the courage to face adversity. The athletes who compete with the Toyota name on their backs demonstrate a never give up attitude, a strong commitment to fair play, and working hard even when no one is watching. These attitudes have continuously given me the courage to take on challenges."

In response to President Toyoda's thoughts and vision, this new arena project incorporates two main ideas.

The first is "Gratitude to sports and athletes." The second is "Continuing to support people in realizing their full potential."

We are confident that if people are able to experience the passion and drive of athletes who realize their full potential at this arena, they will gain courage and joy.

We also hope to discover the potential of new spectator experiences by using mobility technology as a mobility company.

The name of this new endeavor is TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT.

"A" stands for Alvark Tokyo, which will use the new arena as its home court. "A" also stands for Aomi with the hope that the facility will be a favorite of the local community.

"A" is for people's "ability," with the hope that the arena will become a venue for expanding people's potential. "A" is also the first letter of the alphabet, the beginning of everything.

With this arena project, we hope to succeed the history of MEGA WEB by creating joy through mobility fields and providing greater joy and happiness to many people through sports.

Working with a great number of partners, we will take on the challenge of creating an unprecedented arena.

It is our hope that we will be able to encounter many more people who share our vision. I will now give the floor to President Yamamura, who will explain the overall image of the arena that will become the centerpiece of this project.

Tomohide Yamamura

I am Tomohide Yamamura, President of TOYOTA FUDOSAN.

TOYOTA FUDOSAN will be responsible for the development of the arena. I will talk about the facilities that will serve as the main stage for the concepts entrusted to the TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT.

First, here is the planned construction site. It is located in a corner of Palette Town in the Aomi district. The nearest stations are Tokyo Teleport Station and Aomi Station.

Next is an overview of the facility.

The capacity will be a maximum of 10,000 people. The arena will comprise three facilities: the main arena, the sub-arena, and the Alvark building, which will be the new home base for Alvark Tokyo.

Next, I will explain the features of the building's exterior. This is the arena seen from the Tokyo Teleport Station side. A simple design was incorporated with high visibility from the station to make the building a landmark in the city.

There are two rooftop spaces outside the arena: the Family Park and the Sports Park. We hope that the diverse use of these spaces will create a lively atmosphere outside the arena 365 days a year.

This is an image of the area upon entering the main entrance. There is no partition from the entrance to the court, so you can feel the sense of being right in the action from the moment you enter.

The spectator seats in the arena are arranged in an ellipse, so they all feel close to the court. It is designed to give a sense of unity throughout the entire arena.

A wide variety of seating will be available, including various VIP seats and a Sky Lounge with a view of the Aomi area.

From the perspective of sustainability, we are looking into acquiring LEED certification, an international environmental performance evaluation certification standard. While there are currently no LEED-certified arenas in Japan, we hope to achieve an international level in terms of the environment.

In this way, we, TOYOTA FUDOSAN, would like to build a site that can create and realize the potential of all involved.

Shigeru Hayakawa

Thank you, President Yamamura. Next, President Hayashi of Toyota Alvark Tokyo will take the stage to explain what type of arena we seek to create, and our thoughts on the TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT.

Kunihiko Hayashi

Good afternoon. I am Kunihiko Hayashi, President of Toyota Alvark Tokyo. Toyota Alvark Tokyo's role in this project is arena operator.

I would like to share how we will materialize the ideas for the TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT. We adopted three core themes as ideals that the new arena should pursue.

The first is to take on the challenge of creating next-generation sports experiences that make people want to watch and play more.

As Alvark Tokyo's home court, we hope that this arena will share the appeal of basketball with even more fans, and will also promote a wide variety of other sports, such as parasports and urban sports like skateboarding and BMX.

We plan to provide spectators with more diverse ways to enjoy their experience through special seats, spaces, dining areas, and VIP spaces that can also be used for business and other purposes.

We will also look to the potential of sports beyond spectator experiences.

This will include providing opportunities for children to discover their potential by providing various sports experiences, such as a basketball school and sports classes taught by athletes.

We also hope to work with partners and those active in sports tech to expand the potential of sports even further.

The second is taking on the challenge of future mobility services that are more convenient and enjoyable.

As explained in the beginning, we plan to use both Toyota's mobility technologies and our partner's technologies to enhance spectator experiences. One example is shopping experiences at the arena for food, beverages, and other items.

Mobility technology can allow shops on the grounds and within the arena to be different for each event. It also means spectators will be able to purchase food, beverages, and other items from their seats without having to wait in line. We believe that this has the potential to enhance the convenience within the arena.

We are also developing various ideas to transform "transportation" before and after events, which can be a cause of stress, to become an unprecedented and exciting experience. These are some ways we can use Toyota's mobility technology and work with our partners to develop and realize new spectator experiences.

Lastly, we propose more connected and continuously changing sustainable lifestyle designs.

Earlier, President Yamamura explained that we will seek LEED certification for the physical aspects of the project.

In order to create a "blue sea," the literal meaning of the name of the arena's location "Aomi," we hope that we can make sustainable lifestyles that are mutually beneficial to society by working with local residents and visitors to the arena.

For example, we hope to gain cooperation in recycling and reusing waste generated by the facility and minimize plastic waste and food loss by organizing food drives in collaboration with the local community. We will also take other measures to promote sustainable lifestyles while making use of the technologies and knowledge of our partners.

As a new landmark in Aomi, the arena is potentially a driving force for making the area more attractive, along with the redevelopment of neighboring Ariake and other projects.

As a member of such an attractive community, we hope to take on the challenge of making this an information hub using sports as our starting point.

We have expressed our vision and expectations for the TOKYO A-ARENA PROJECT. Toyota Motor Corporation, TOYOTA FUDOSAN, and Alvark Tokyo will work in close collaboration to realize them.

In discussing the ideas for the arena with President Toyoda, we always excitedly talk about the potential and future of sports.

However, the ideas and our vision are something we cannot achieve on our own. So, we adopted "Let's discover the potential together!" as the project slogan, and we will seek a wide range of partners to cooperate with us.

The specific partners we are looking for are as follows.

First of all, companies and organizations that possess the technology and services to achieve the vision. For example, we are looking for sports tech startups, IT-related companies to update the spectator experience, and companies with environmental technology to achieve sustainability.

Second, companies and organizations that share our vision and would like to sponsor this project. We would like to consider various naming rights and activation opportunities for this arena with sponsors while considering their needs.

Lastly, businesses interested in using our arena for events. We hope to make the arena accessible to a wide range of customers.

To all the athletes, sports and arena-related staff, fans, supporters of Alvark Tokyo, and the people who live and work in Aomi and the Bay Area, we are committed to realizing a dream arena and creating a new landmark that brings you excitement 365 days a year.

We look forward to hearing proposals from people with a can-do spirit.

Thank you.

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