Motorpoint Arena (originally the Nottingham Arena)
[ is a multi-use indoor arena joined with the ]National Ice Centre
The National Ice Centre (NIC) is located in Nottingham, England. It is situated just east of the city centre, close to the historic Lace Market area. The NIC was the first twin Olympic-sized (60m x 30m) ice pad facility in the UK, "heralding ...
in the Lace Market
The Lace Market is a historic quarter-mile square area of Nottingham, England. It was the centre of the world's lace industry during the British Empire and is now a protected heritage area. It was an area of salesrooms and warehouses for storin ...
district of Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England. The National Ice Centre and Nottingham Arena were opened by Olympic gold medalist Jayne Torvill
Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. With Christopher Dean, she won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the ...
on 1 April 2000. The arena is the biggest live entertainment venue in the East Midlands.
History
Background
The arena is part of the National Ice Centre
The National Ice Centre (NIC) is located in Nottingham, England. It is situated just east of the city centre, close to the historic Lace Market area. The NIC was the first twin Olympic-sized (60m x 30m) ice pad facility in the UK, "heralding ...
which was constructed on the site of the former Nottingham Ice Stadium
The Nottingham Ice Stadium was an ice rink in Nottingham, England from 1939 to 2000. It had a seating capacity of 2800 for Ice hockey games.
The building was first opened in 1939 but it was quickly called upon for other purposes. Throughout Wor ...
. The ice stadium opened in 1939 and was showing its age, so, in September 1995, plans were announced to replace the Ice Stadium. Plans for the new ice rink, supported by the British Olympic Association, were unveiled in October 1996.
Construction
Several buildings were demolished to make way for the new ice centre; this included an Art Deco warehouse and "The Old Cricket Players" pub, which was initially spared but closed a few years later and replaced with appartments. The former Ice Stadium closed in March 2000, and by May 2000 was described as "nearly demolished", with four skip loads of demolition rubble being removed from the site every day.
During excavation for the new building in July 1998 a rare 1,100-year-old Saxon jug was found, which is on display at the Nottingham Castle Museum. A 19th-century graveyard was also found under the car park, from which the bodies were then exhumed.
Opening
On 1 April 2000, the National Ice Centre was officially opened by Olympic gold medalist Jayne Torvill
Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. With Christopher Dean, she won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the ...
. The second phase of the project — the family rink — was scheduled to be completed by May–June 2001, but opened early on 7 April 2001.[ The National Ice Centre was the first twin Olympic-sized ice rink in the United Kingdom. The final cost of the project was £43million.] The arena was inaugurated by English band, Simply Red
Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...
on 29 April 2000.
By 2002, the arena was not as popular as planned. The venue posted an operating loss of £1 million in its first year. Concert promoters would often have acts skip Nottingham in favour of Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. HM The Queen visited the National Ice Centre and Arena on 31 July 2002.
In 2007, former radio station Trent FM
Trent FM was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Nottinghamshire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Leicester Sound and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's Capital FM Network) on M ...
purchased naming rights for four years, becoming the Trent FM Arena Nottingham. When Trent FM was bought by Global Radio
Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysa ...
, the naming rights were assigned to Capital FM, and the Arena now became known as Capital FM Arena Nottingham. In 2011, the arena installed a draping system, reducing the capacity to 4,000 for intimate shows. The arena's overall capacity was also expanded from 9,000 to 10,000.
Despite the average event ticket price rising almost £5 from the year before (to £37.22), in the 2012–13 season the arena made a £200,000 "operating deficit", with a 9% drop in attendance at the Arena, and a 6% fall in the number of events held.
Events
Little Mix
Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...
hold the record for the largest concert at the arena, with an audience of 15,685. Westlife
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
has performed the most at the arena, with 22 shows between 2001 and 2019. As of 2014 the arena has hosted artists and events including Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
, Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
, Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
, Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
, Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
, One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gr ...
, ''The X Factor Tour'', "Strictly Come Dancing on Tour" and ''We Will Rock You'', as well as conferences, galas and balls, including Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
’s Graduation Ball. On 17 November 2012, the arena hosted the fight between Nottingham boxer Carl Froch
Carl Martin Froch, (born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the W ...
and Yusaf Mack
Yusaf Mack (born January 20, 1980) is an American former professional boxer.
Professional boxing career
On November 17, 2000, in his professional boxing debut, Mack defeated Willie Lee via TKO in the second round.
He has held regional titles fr ...
, with Froch retaining his world title as IBF super-middleweight."Unbelievable" home crowd witness Carl Froch masterclass at Nottingham's Capital Arena
19 November 2012
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Boxing venues in the United Kingdom
Indoor arenas in England
Buildings and structures in Nottingham
Music venues in Nottinghamshire
Tourist attractions in Nottingham
Music venues completed in 2000
Exhibition and conference centres in England
Sports venues in Nottingham
Darts venues
Netball venues in England
2000 establishments in England