Doors to the Vertu Motors Arena open at 8:30am. The night before, Cage Warriors filled the arena; a fighter’s mask is cleared as three courts are set up for basketball. Scoreboards flicker on. Tables are arranged for officials. Chairs are laid out for benches.
As this happens, the foyer fills with boys, girls and parents arriving for the Central Venue League (CVL), run by the Newcastle Eagles Community Foundation on weekends when the arena is free. Today’s CVL runs from 9am to 11am — then national league fixtures take over until 3pm before the women’s senior team faces Cardiff Met Archers at 5:30pm.
Morning
When the doors open, players flood onto the courts, gather basketballs, and begin dribbling and shooting. Parents drift to the balcony overlooking three full courts.
The foundation runs clubs that span the region — Gateshead to Northumberland, city centre to coast — pulling in players from all over. These thirteen Eagles Community Foundation (ECF) clubs give more than 2,200 children regular opportunities to play locally and come together at the Vertu Motors Arena on CVL days.
CVL runs across five age groups with multiple teams from each of the ECF clubs:
| Age Group | Number of Teams |
|---|---|
| U10 | 29 |
| U12 | 37 |
| U14 | 28 |
| U16 | 30 |
| U18 | 15 |
At 9:06 — slightly delayed by a stubborn scoreboard that won’t switch on and extra clean-up from the night before — all three courts tip off. Today only the U12 league is playing, but the scale is still clear.
You can see children working on fundamentals: planting the pivot foot after picking up the dribble, spotting open teammates, and making sure to look at the rim before driving. The emphasis is on enjoyment and development, with age-specific rules limiting full-court pressure and zone defence to support learning.
Coaches encourage constantly — applauding good play, urging communication, delivering short team talks at halftime. Music plays through the arena, lifting the energy and softening the impact that parents can have from the balcony.
Martin Walton oversees the CVL, moving between courts with a microphone in hand, clock-watching as he tries to claw back the six-minute delay. CVL games run to tight schedules — sixteen-minute halves with a one-minute break for U12s — demanding fast turnovers between games.
Referees and table officials — older foundation and academy players working toward qualifications — handle the game resets: whistles blow, scoreboards clear. Scores are displayed but not officially recorded at this level — league tables are introduced only as players move into older age groups.
For the second block of games, a new wave of children takes the courts as the balcony refreshes with new parents. Coaches rotate too — volunteers, parents, and older academy players stepping into sideline roles.
By the time the third and final round tips, Martin checks the clock again: now just two minutes behind.
Midday
The building shifts for the national league schedule. Martin circles the courts with a ladder, raising rims from the U12 height of eight feet to the regulation ten used in competition. Fabric dividers left partially open during the CVL are pulled tight, turning one shared space into three separate arenas.
Newcastle host two blocks of games across the courts. Teams from York and Leeds file out of changing rooms for warm-ups, moving through structured drills.
Several referees and table officials remain on duty, working across both the CVL and national league games as part of their development pathways.
The balcony fills with fresh faces. The Newcastle U14 girls, without a fixture today, arrive to support their academy teammates.
Once the whistles go, the mood changes. Shouts echo from the floor. Coaches bark instructions and argue calls with the officials. The benches and balcony rise together for made shots and defensive stops.
Players from Nottingham and Sheffield arrive for the second block, passing through the balcony concourse toward the changing rooms.
After the first round, the U18 men — fresh off a comeback victory over league-leading York — remain on the balcony to watch the U18 women face Nottingham Wildcats.
The second session is just as intense. The balcony roars at tough rebounds and momentum-swinging steals. Despite a strong scoring effort from standout forward Grace Rae, Newcastle are overmatched by a disciplined Wildcats side.
On the sideline stands Ian MacLeod — former Eagles head coach and current Community Foundation development manager — stepping in to guide the team temporarily. After the final whistle he gathers the players, then hands head coaching duties to assistant Zoe Willis, who also plays for the senior women. The team erupts in support — a small celebration on a difficult afternoon.
Evening
The arena closes ahead of the evening fixture. Over two hours, Vertu Motors transforms from community hub to professional venue. Retractable seating slides into place. The centre court is reset as the night’s stage.
Foundation players who took part in the CVL earlier work as sweepers during the game, rushing out to wipe sweat where bodies hit the deck in scrambles for loose balls.
Zoe Willis suits up as team captain, leading Newcastle to a narrow four-point win over Cardiff. On the bench sits Grace Rae — now part of the senior environment after starring earlier in the day — joining team talks and watching substitutions, beginning her apprenticeship in professional rhythms.
After
Across the day, connections form quietly: U12 teammates forging friendships, junior referees joking during breaks, academy players staying to support one another and talk with visiting teams after games.
Later this season, players from both the men’s and women’s senior teams will visit the thirteen foundation clubs, working with the youngest participants as their journeys begin — completing the loop from the top of Newcastle’s pathway back to its base.
The Vertu Motors Arena sits at the centre of it all — a home for a community that Martin sums up simply:
We’re thirteen different clubs, but feel like family
