Cricket, football, horse racing and ice skating – just some of the activities you can get involved in across Nottingham’s impressive array of stadiums.
Arenas in Nottingham
Motorpoint Arena
Nottingham’s largest indoor stadium, the 10,000-capacity Motorpoint Arena was opened in 2000 and is part of the National Ice Centre in Bolero Square. It’s hosted over 1,000 different shows spanning wrestling to darts and monster trucks to sell-out pop concerts. The arena got off to a slow start in the first few years, but now hosts dozens of big shows each year including Rod Stewart, Elton John, Green Day, The Killers and Iron Maiden.
The arena can also be partitioned off to form a 4,000-capacity venue, which suits more intimate shows including stand-up. The huge Motorpoint Arena car park can hold thousands of cars, with event parking £10.
Our Nottingham Arena hotel is just a few minutes’ walk away, perfect for catching all the big shows.
Trent Bridge
One of the biggest and best cricket grounds in the country, Trent Bridge is a 17,500-capacity ground on the banks of the River Trent and is a short walk from Nottingham Forest and Notts County. The ground underwent a £7.2 million redevelopment in 1998, creating the imposing Radcliffe Road End which towers over the ground and provides excellent views. There are dozens of food and drink outlets open on match days, plus several bars within a short distance including the Larwood, and Voce and Trent Bridge Inn which form part of the ground.
Tickets for Test matches and one-day games invariably sell out and can be booked up to a year in advance. The season runs from the middle of April until the end of September, with the Twenty20 competition held every July a popular option as each four-hour game runs into the evening and provides plenty of big-hitting action.
The City Ground
Home to Nottingham Forest, the City Ground is an excellent stadium with a capacity of 30,445. The ground has hosted several international matches, including during Euro 96, and during Forest’s peak in the late 70s and early 80s celebrated back-to-back European Cup triumphs under Brian Clough’s management.
You can take an hour-long tour of the stadium, including their trophy room, with European Cup-winning captain John McGovern showing you around the grounds. The stadium has also hosted several big-name concerts including R.E.M. in 2005, but is now largely used for football from August until May each year with a break in the summer to protect the turf.
The ground is on the banks of the River Trent and a 15-minute walk from our Nottingham Arena hotel. There are five designated car parks around the ground, including at Meadow Lane, but parking on the residential areas nearby is likely to result in a hefty parking fine.
Meadow Lane
Home to the oldest professional football team in the world, Meadow Lane has hosted Notts County since 1910. The 19,841-capacity stadium is just 270 metres from their bitter rivals Nottingham Forest over the banks of the River Trent. The ground has undergone extensive work in the last few decades, with the Meadow Lane end, County Road Stand and Spion Kop all demolished and new stands with a social club and dressing rooms constructed in their place. The ground is now well equipped, with the Broken Wheelbarrow the ground’s on-site pub that welcomes home and away fans.
The team currently play in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English league, and have spent 30 seasons in the top division during their history. Sadly, recent decades have been less kind with the club yo-yoing between the lower divisions. There are several large car parks near the ground including The Embankment near the River Trent.