Crossword Genius

Pole in space; a scene of much action (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

arena

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'scene of much action' is the definition.
'arena' can be an answer for 'scene' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'of much action' bit.

'pole in space a' is the wordplay.
'pole in' becomes 'ar' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'space' becomes 'en' (in printing, a space as wide as a letter 'n').
'ar'+'en'+'a'='ARENA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for arena that I've seen before include "Battleground" , "Where gladiators fought" , "sports ground" , "Amphitheatre's central space" , "Entertainments venue" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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