The largest indoor arena in Leicester will now be known as the Mattioli Arena following the generosity of a well known charity in the city.
The venue – previously the Morningside Arena – is currently being rebranded. It comes after the Ian & Clare Mattioli Charitable Trust accepted an offer of naming rights to Leicester Arena.
The Trust has donated funds to the Leicester Riders Foundation, the charity which develops basketball and other sport participation for people of all ages across Leicester and Leicestershire.
The generosity of the Mattioli family has resulted in the Trust being offered naming rights, in recognition of their continued support.
Recent donations from the Trust are in addition to the £500,000 donation made to help fund the Arena’s extension in 2022.
The Arena team will work with the family to create a lasting legacy gifted to communities in Leicester and Leicestershire.
The Trust – established by the Mattioli family in 2016 – works to help enhance the lives and opportunities of local people.
In particular it works with communities and socio-economic groups which are often sidelined and which struggle to access opportunities for advancement, personal growth, and to fully participate in society.
Ian Mattioli MBE, founder of the Trust and CEO of Mattioli Woods PLC, said: “We are delighted to continue our support of the Arena, and are proud to accept the naming rights.
“The Mattioli Arena delivers high-quality and high-class events, while at the same time focussing on its community commitments and increasing the profile of the city.
“Leicester has always looked after our family in the very safest of environments and that is why we are delighted to be part of creating a legacy for the diverse communities we support in the City of Leicester and beyond.
“To also be able to do this through sport and a venue that has the potential to impact so many people is something we will continue to take great pride in, and we hope it will be used by many, many people over coming years.”
Kevin Routledge, Chairman of Leicester Riders, Trustee of Leicester Riders Foundation, and a Director of the Arena, said: “Once again, Ian and Clare Mattioli Charitable Trust has shown its commitment to the city and the work of our Foundation, and the Mattioli Arena, and we are hugely appreciative of that.
“The work of the Riders Foundation, and the demands on the Arena, continue to grow and we are committed to further enhancements to our facilities.
“We are hugely appreciative to the Mattioli family’s generous support, which will enable us to deliver an arena, community services, and events that will continue to make the city proud.”
The 3,000-capacity Mattioli Arena stages an increasingly wide range of national and international sports and entertainment events.
It also provides a wide range of community sports opportunities through the Riders’ extensive underage basketball programmes through the Leicester Riders Foundation.
The venue also provides opportunities for Leicester College students, wheelchair basketball users, and other community sport users – making it the largest of its type in the UK.
Last year’s extension to the Arena is already bringing significant additional revenue to the city. It consists of a standalone, 1,200-metre squared, two-court sports hall, with a new entrance to the arena also completed at the top of Memory Lane.
It also has the largest solar array on any individual building in the city, generating 246 kW(p) of solar power and helping the Arena towards becoming a Net Zero business.
