Vertu Motors Arena

Vertu Motors Arena

Home of the Newcastle Eagles
Former names	Eagles Community Arena
Location	Newcastle, England
Coordinates	54°57′49″N1°38′13″W / 54.9637°N 1.6369°W / 54.9637; -1.6369
Owner	Eagles Community Foundation
Capacity	Basketball: 2,800 Boxing: 3,500 Entertainment: 3,300
Construction
Opened	January 2019
Construction cost	£6.5 million
Tenants
Newcastle Eagles (2019–present)
Website
vertumotorsarena.com

The Vertu Motors Arena (formerly the Eagles Community Arena) is a multi-purpose built venue for events, meetings, sports and the community in the Elswick area of the city of Newcastle, England. The arena has a capacity for up to 3,500 spectators and is home to the Newcastle Eagles of the British Basketball League and Women's British Basketball League.

Background

It had been a stated aim of Newcastle Eagles owner Paul Blake 'for at least 10 years, probably longer' for the club and its foundation to own and control their own facility. ^[1] The club had previously been based at the Metro Radio Arena and Northumbria University's Sport Central.

In partnership with Newcastle City Council, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, Sport England and Newcastle College, planning permission was approved and construction work on the arena began in November 2017. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} The arena was officially opened in January 2019, when the Eagles hosted the Plymouth Raiders in a BBL Championship match. ^{[6] [7]}

The arena was awarded three prizes in special achievement, community value and social accessibility at the 2020 Lord Mayor's Design Awards. ^{[8] [9]}

International basketball matches

Date	Competition	Home team	Result	Away team	Attendance	Ref.
24 February 2020	FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifier	Great Britain	81–73	Germany	2,800	[10]
25 November 2021	FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifier	Great Britain	78–69	Greece	2,600
3 July 2022	FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifier	Great Britain	71–85	Turkey	2,300
28 August 2022	FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifier	Great Britain	80–87	Latvia	2,300
11 November 2022	FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifier	Great Britain	68-74	Serbia	2,003
24 February 2023	FIBA 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualifier	Great Britain	59-88	Belgium	2,239
23 February 2024	FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifier	Great Britain	98-94	Netherlands	2,213
24 February 2025	FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifier	Great Britain	96-75	Czech Republic	2,181

Boxing matches

Date	Competition	Main event	Result	Ref.
23 September 2023	MF & DAZN: X Series 009	Idris Virgo vs Aaron Chalmers	Virgo — TKO (3/5)	[11]
14 September 2024	MF & DAZN: X Series 18 – Stake Pro Tournament Card	Elle Brooke vs Jenny Savage	Brooke — UD	[12]

References

1. Stuart Rayner. "New arena chance for Newcastle Eagles to keep up as British basketball ratchets up a notch". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
2. "Work Begins on Newcastle Eagles' New Facility". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
3. "Work begins on the new Eagles Community Arena – British Basketball League". bbl.org.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
4. "Newcastle Eagles Community Arena". Esh Group. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
5. Katie Dickinson. "Inside one of the West End's biggest developments – as Newcastle Eagles' stadium nears completion". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
6. "Newcastle Eagles Community Arena Prepares for Official Opening". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
7. Simon Meechan. "Basketball's Newcastle Eagles to play in front of capacity crowd at Eagles Community Arena". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
8. Coreena Ford. "Newcastle's best buildings are crowned at the Lord Mayor's Design Awards". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
9. "Award-winning planning consultancy targets milestone year". Bdaily Business News. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
10. "EuroBasket 2021: Great Britain beat Germany 81–73 – BBC Sport". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
11. Walker, Christopher (30 August 2023). "Idris Virgo vs. Aaron Chalmers headlines MF & DAZN: X Series 009 in Newcastle". DAZN .
12. Schuller, Rudi (15 September 2024). "Who won the boxing last night? Elle Brooke vs. Jenny Savage fight card results". DAZN .

External links

• Official website