Interview with Sam Blake, CEO, Eagles Community Foundation

In this latest industry interview, we spoke with Sam Blake, CEO at the Eagles Community Foundation who manages the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle.

Sam explains how the Vertu Motors Arena first opened in January 2019, hosting over 200 events before the pandemic hit. She tells us about transitioning the Arena to a vaccination centre, to then hosting basketball matches under COVID restrictions and now planning for up-coming events this summer.

With the arena being owned and operated by the Eagles Community Foundation, a registered charity, and home to both its outreach programme and the Newcastle Eagles Basketball Club, Sam advises the challenges of having multiple stakeholders and how it affects the ways in which she operates/manages the venue.

Sam also talks about how the pandemic will inform how she works moving forward, how she sees the sector evolving moving forward and the importance of the naming rights deal with Vertu Motors.

About the Newcastle Eagles

The Newcastle Eagles are the all-time most successful British team with 27 x titles. They are the North East’s BBL and WBBL clubs. Their award-winning Eagles Community Foundation owns and operates the Vertu Motors Arena on Scotswood Road in Newcastle, the club’s new multi-million purpose build venue for events, meetings, sports and the community.