Nottingham Arena @ 25

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.
 

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.

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
 

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!

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!

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!