The financial future of the city council-owned National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena is to be discussed after the authority propped it up with more than £7m of loans. The National Ice Centre and Motorpoint Arena will be discussed by Nottingham City councillors on Tuesday, July 19 at Loxley House. Parts of the meeting will be held behind closed doors.
However, a report and presentation published ahead of the meeting shows the company had a balance sheet deficit of £5.8m up to March 2022 and is dealing with ‘a massive backlog of maintenance’. It has also struggled to recruit some staff. The financial pressure relates to the pandemic, including show and event cancellations.
But the company says it has bounced back with sell-out shows by Sam Fender, Stormzy, and Craig David and crowds at 29 Nottingham Panthers matches. Between August and March this year it brought in 350,000 arena customers, with the ‘busiest ever’ February, March, April, and May for arena events.
