Motorpoint Arena Nottingham: big gigs and ice hockey on a historic site

Few venues in the East Midlands can switch from a sell-out pop concert to a roaring ice hockey game quite like Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. Since it opened in 2000, the arena in the Lace Market has become one of the main staples of the region's live entertainment scene.

Its story begins on ice. The site was home to the Nottingham Ice Stadium, which opened in 1939, and it was there that Olympic ice dance champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean trained. The square in front of today's building is named Bolero Square in their honour.

The old stadium closed in March 2000 and the new National Ice Centre, built at a cost of £43 million, took its place. Jayne Torvill officially opened the centre on 1 April 2000, and Simply Red inaugurated the arena on 29 April 2000. It was the UK's first twin Olympic-sized ice pad facility.

Since then the arena has hosted an extraordinary range of shows. With the ice boarded over, it can seat 10,000 for concerts. Little Mix hold the venue's concert attendance record, with 15,685 fans, while Westlife have played the most shows here, 22 between 2001 and 2019. Elton John and Strictly Come Dancing are among the other big names to have filled the room.

Sport is in its DNA too. The Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team have played here since 2000, and Nottingham Forest Netball became tenants in 2025. In 2023 the arena hosted the IIHF World Championship Division I Group A, where Great Britain won all five games and were promoted, and Carl Froch defended his IBF super-middleweight title here in 2012.

Next door, the National Ice Centre remains a training base for the GB Short Track Speed Skating Squad, as well as a place for families to enjoy public skating sessions.

The venue is owned by Nottingham City Council and run by The Nottingham Ice Centre Ltd, which also looks after the National Ice Centre and the Saltbox Bar. A draping system means the arena can also shrink to a capacity of around 4,000 for more intimate shows.

Upcoming concerts, comedy and sport are listed on the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham website.