Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

You can run a 6,000-seat theatre-style conference, an 800-cover dinner or an exhibition on a 2,100 m² flat floor in the same city-centre building as a 16-seat boardroom, with the Lace Market tram stop five minutes’ walk away and Nottingham station ten. Motorpoint Arena Nottingham stands on Bolero Square in the Lace Market and shares one complex with the National Ice Centre; both are run by Nottingham Ice Centre Ltd, and the arena is home to the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team. It opened in April 2000 and has used its current name since January 2016.

Event spaces and capacities

The capacity chart lists eight bookable rooms and room divisions, and the spaces pages add two bars. The Arena is the largest: its flat floor measures 2,100 m² and the chart gives 6,000 theatre style, 3,500 standing and 800 for dinner. The Main Arena page puts the full range at 500 to 10,000 delegates, using the 6,500 tiered seats around the floor, so ask which figure applies to your layout. The Bolero Suite on level three takes 300 theatre style and splits into three syndicate rooms. The venue notes that all chart figures come from a sample event and that dinner numbers marked on the chart can rise with the set-up.

Capacities as published by the venue on its capacity chart, checked 5 November 2026. Boardroom-style figures are 40 for Syndicate 1, 20 for Syndicates 2 and 3, 30 for Spotlight and 16 for the Boardroom. Bar 1946 and the T&D Café give only an “up to 100” figure.

For product launches and sampling, the venue also sells activation space on Bolero Square and in the arena foyer on nights when the arena has a show. It says a Bolero Square pitch can reach up to 10,000 ticket holders as they queue for entry.

Getting there and parking

You can bring delegates in without cars: the venue says the Lace Market tram stop on Fletcher Gate is a five-minute walk, Nottingham railway station and the Broadmarsh and Victoria bus stations are about ten minutes on foot, and some Nottingham City Transport buses stop outside. East Midlands Airport is about 25 minutes by road, and the Skylink bus runs from there to Nottingham up to every 20 minutes, around the clock. Drivers can follow brown tourist signs; the venue gives the A52 as under 30 minutes away. On-site parking is offered only when you hire the whole Arena, subject to availability; otherwise delegates use city-centre car parks within about ten minutes’ walk. Nottingham City Council runs a first-come blue badge car park beside the arena on Dean Street, and there are more blue badge bays on Barker Gate. For Arena hires, loading is through the backstage entrance; smaller events unload in the backstage car park or the loading bay, by arrangement.

Catering, AV and accommodation

You get built-in projectors, PA and free Wi-Fi in every suite and in the Arena bowl, plus in-house sound, lighting and IT technicians. The Boardroom has an 86-inch interactive screen and video conferencing. For Arena productions the venue names Quadrant, BE Event Hire and More Productions as preferred AV suppliers, and its team can book extra equipment and invoice you for it in one bill. Arena hires include an in-house draping system, a stage, chairs, a mixing platform, a production office, changing rooms and box office facilities. Catering is provided in-house, with vegetarian and vegan options and cashless payment encouraged. There are no bedrooms on site; the venue says it has negotiated discounts for event bookers at partner hotels in the city centre.

On access, the venue reports flat access, lifts to all floors, a Changing Places facility, Attitude is Everything Charter Gold (awarded September 2013) and CredAbility Verified Accessible status. It says it is a zero-landfill venue, recycling 40 per cent of its waste and sending the rest to a local energy-from-waste incinerator.

What to ask before you book

• Is your Arena layout planned against the chart’s 6,000 theatre figure or the 10,000 delegate figure on the Main Arena page, and how many of the 6,500 tiered seats does it use?
• Can the Arena dinner rise above the 800 shown on the chart for your table plan, and what does that do to the stage position?
• If you are not hiring the whole Arena, which car park does the venue recommend for your delegates, and can your exhibitors use the loading bay on build day?
• Will an Arena show on your date fill Bolero Square and the foyer, and how does that affect access to the Bolero Suite on level three?
• Does the Green Room take 250 or 300 standing for your set-up? Its page and the chart give different figures.
• What does pre-booked on-site IT support cost, and which items go on the single invoice for extra equipment?

Payment terms are published: a signed contract and a 50 per cent deposit on confirmation, with the balance due before the event as the contract sets out.

Related on Events Review

• Conference venues in Nottingham
• Stadium and sports venues
• Conference and exhibition venues
• Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
• Albert Hall Conference Centre
• East Midlands Conference Centre
• Trent Bridge
• The City Ground
• Utilita Arena Sheffield
• AO Arena, Manchester
• Turn venue accessibility claims into a usable event plan
• Choose the venue around the event, not the headline capacity

Sources: capacity chart, Main Arena, conferences, Bolero Suite, Boardroom, getting here, FAQs, facilities, accessibility, sustainability, history and contact, checked 5 November 2026.