The East Midlands’ largest entertainment venue turns 25 years old in 2025.
This brand new podcast will feature some of the people who had the vision for the Arena and National Ice Centre; you’ll find out how the venue came to life-what were the main challenges to overcome and what have been the biggest moments over the last 25 years?
Meet some of the stars who have performed there and also, some people who normally work behind the scenes.
We also want to feature you and your story-what’s your biggest memory of a concert, event or ice hockey game at the Nottingham Arena? Get in touch!
Senior Events Manager Lee Smith and Cherry Knight discuss their long careers at Nottingham Arena and share memorable moments from working at the entertainment venue in this interview episode.
19 May 2025
Episode 9-Martin Ingham & Donna Gately
In our last episode, Martin Ingham (CEO of the Nottingham Arena and National Ice Centre), took us behind the scenes-he pointed out the best seats in the house, described how he was once booed off his own stage and shared some of the great success stories of the venue over its 25 year history.
This time, Martin describes the impact of Covid on the arena and on the entertainment/sports industry as a whole and gives an insight into how the sector is recovering in 2025.
Also, you'll hear from Donna Gately-she's General Manager and has worked at the arena since 2002. She describes how she came to work in Nottingham, what makes her proud and how important teamwork is in this industry.
Donna also recounts her funniest moments in her career so far.
We really hope you enjoy this episode!
14 May 2025
Episode 8A - bonus edition with Jake Bugg!!
In this series, we've been telling the story of the Nottingham Arena and National Ice Centre from conception to build, with some of the pioneers involved in the project , as well as Olympic gold medallists Torvill & Dean.
In episode 8, we took you behind the scenes with CEO Martin Ingham who told you about the time he was booed off his own stage and just whereabouts in the arena are the best seats in the house?
This is a brand new, bonus episode featuring a Nottingham superstar.
Jake Bugg was born in Nottingham 6 years before the arena was built...he started playing gigs as a teenager and performed at Glastonbury aged 16, having been featured on BBC Introducing.
He's played the arena before and here, he shares his experience of those shows, touring America and what's next our favourite Clifton lad.
This interview was recorded backstage at the Arena, just before an acoustic performance at a gala dinner for the 25th anniversary.
13 May 2025
Episode 8 - Martin Ingham
In our last episode, we featured a conversation with former Nottingham Arena/NIC CEO Geoff Huckstep. Onto the latest edition and it's rather fitting that we feature the current CEO Martin Ingham. He joined the operation initially as finance director and became Chief Executive when Geoff retired in 2016.
In this podcast, Martin takes us behind the scenes of the arena and shares some of his proudest moments and gives a fascinating insight into running such a huge operation.
Also, listen out for a few stories of when things haven't quite gone to plan:
*when was he booed off his own stage?
*what happens when the ice melts before an... ice show?!
*how to deal with a last minute show cancellation (before the days of social media)
Find out in this latest episode of The Nottingham Arena at 25.
7 May 2025
Episode 7 - Geoff Huckstep
So far in this series, we've been telling the story of the Nottingham Arena and National Ice Centre-from conception to planning, to building and everything in between.
This episode focuses on the human side of the operation - Geoff Huckstep joined the business in 2003 and here, he gives an honest account of his time as CEO.
From the struggles of the early days, to his feelings of joy when things are going well, Geoff shines a light on what it means to be a great leader and how to overcome obstacles. It's a fascinating insight into how to go about positioning a new venue on the national and international stage, especially at a challenging time for the city of Nottingham.
We really hope you enjoy listening!
29 Apr 2025
Episode 6-The Nottingham Panthers
While telling the story of the Nottingham Arena and National Ice Centre over the last 25 years, we want to feature every part of the venue.
With that in mind, we'll be showcasing ice sports soon and taking you behind the scenes, as well as meeting some of the people behind the scenes.
In this episode, it's all about the Nottingham Panthers.
In the last few days, they've become 2025 Playoff Champions in a dramatic games that saw them win then lose, then win again!
You'll hear from fan favourite and ex player David Clarke reflecting on this momentous win, as well as his own time on the ice in Nottingham.
Firstly, someone with a long association with the club and the venue-he started off as equipment manager and is now Chief Operations Officer, Adam Goodridge.
22 Apr 2025
Episode 5 - Colin Dyson & Graham Chapman
The story of the early days of the Nottingham Arena and National Ice Centre continues in this episode.
Colin Dyson may not be a familiar name to many people, but he had a key role in the planning and building of the venue-at the time, he spent 13 years doing this and has some really interesting insights into the process. He's also a huge Panthers fan and I'd like to personally thank Colin for helping to put me in contact with several other great guests for this series.
Secondly, you'll hear from Graham Chapman-at the time, Graham was Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council-the authority's backing was crucial in the Arena getting built and here, he outlines some of the challenges involved.
22 Apr 2025
Episode 4A-celebrating the Nottingham Panthers big win at the weekend
We want to feature every part of the venue to mark our 25th birthday and there'll be a full episode devoted to the Panthers very soon.
What a weekend for Panthers fans-they made it to the final....they won, then they lost...but in the end, they did win and became Playoff Champions 2025-congratulations to the whole team and what a fitting year to do it!
In this special bonus episode, we chat to someone who doesn't give many interviews-he joined the club many years ago as equipment manager. These days, he's Chief Operations Officer, Adam Goodridge.
Don't forget to check back for our full Panthers episode and for more on our Arena/National Ice Centre story.
15 Apr 2025
Episode 4-Mich Stevenson
Thank you for joining us to celebrate Nottingham Arena and the National Ice Centre's 25th birthday in 2025.
The story of the Arena's early days continues, this time with the man they call Mr Nottingham.
Mich Stevenson OBE is widely credited with helping to save Nottingham's Lace Market and has been involved in a whole host of other projects, including the National Justice Museum (formerly the Galleries of Justice).
In this episode, Mich shares stories about his time as chair of the arena/NIC-a post he held for 25 years. He shines a light on some of the issues the team faced in the early days, as well as some of the great successes; hear about a certain visitor to the arena who made a lasting impression on Mich and who, by his own admission, had a unique and special "aura".
We hope you enjoy this episode...plenty more to come.
Follow our 25th anniversary plans at www.motorpointarenanottingham.com
Get in touch with your arena memories: marketing@national-ice-centre.com
7 Apr 2025
Episode 3 - planning, building and paying
Following on from our first 2 episodes to mark the venue's 25th birthday, the story of the Nottingham Arena's early days continues.
In episode 1, Torvill & Dean described their involvement in the project and how they lent their names to the original plans.
Episode 2 featured Ted Cantle (former CEO of Nottingham City Council)-many people credit him with having the idea of a new arena and National Ice Centre in the city.
In this latest edition, we move onto the planning and building stage-Ian Taylor was working for Laing at the time-they're the construction company tasked with the build. Ian describes some of the challenges along the way and how these were overcome.
Then you'll hear from Tim Garfield-in these early days, Tim was working for Sport England and he was a key figure in making sure the project could get the funding needed to go ahead.
Don't forget to keep up to date with all of our 25th anniversary plans online www.motorpointarenanottingham.com and get in touch with your own story-we'd love to hear from you! marketing@national-ice-centre.com
Enjoy listening!
30 Mar 2025
Episode 2 - Ted Cantle
This is a brand new podcast specially created to celebrate the National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena Nottingham's 25th birthday.
Over the coming weeks, you'll hear from some of the people who came up with the idea of building the venue, stars who've played on stage and on the ice, and some of the people behind the scenes who make everything run smoothly.
There are lots of exciting plans for our 25th anniverary - keep up to date via our socials and our website www.motorpointarenanottingham.com
If you've got a great story about your time here, get in touch by emailing marketing@national-ice-centre.com
In this first episode, Nottingham legends and Olympic Gold Medallists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean chat to Mark Dennison backstage at the arena, during rehearsals for their "Our Last Dance" Tour. Don't forget to book your tickets to see them here for the final time in July!
28 Mar 2025
Episode 1 - Torvill and Dean
This is a brand new podcast specially created to celebrate the National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena Nottingham's 25th birthday.
Over the coming weeks, you'll hear from some of the people who came up with the idea of building the venue, stars who've played on stage and on the ice, and some of the people behind the scenes who make everything run smoothly.
There are lots of exciting plans for our 25th anniverary - keep up to date via our socials and our website www.motorpointarenanottingham.com
If you've got a great story about your time here, get in touch by emailing marketing@national-ice-centre.com
In this first episode, Nottingham legends and Olympic Gold Medallists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean chat to Mark Dennison backstage at the arena, during rehearsals for their "Our Last Dance" Tour. Don't forget to book your tickets to see them here for the final time in July!
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