New HQ Sparks Bright Future for Thunder

by Dave Scotford September 27, 2021

Dave Scotford and Phoebe Belfield from Team Norse Thunder

Team Norse Thunder are celebrating the launch of their new Birmingham HQ after two years of planning was realised thanks to the support of the University of Birmingham and UnLtd.

The new HQ is housed inside The Exchange, just opposite the Library of Birmingham and the Rep Theatre, which puts it right in the heart of the city centre. Run by the University of Birmingham, The Exchange has been created as a hub for entrepreneurship in the city, while it also aims to become a springboard to drive change and bring together local communities.

As part of the launch, the university is also providing a package of support to help power the team, as well as £15,000 in funding.

Meanwhile, the support provided by UnLtd, an organisation that works with social enterprise projects across the country, has provided much of the funding to launch and run community gaming events in the new space. UnLtd supported Team Norse Thunder with a near-£5,000 grant last year, and despite the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the funding was ring-fenced and kept aside for when the world began to open back up.

The new HQ has been playing host to weekly Magic: The Gathering sessions, but more events are set to be rolled out later this year. Pokemon TCG and Hearthstone events are very much on the agenda, and so are in-person WildRift and League of Legends sessions.

Speaking about the team’s new HQ, Team Norse Thunder’s Dave Scotford said: “It’s hard to explain just how big this is for us. We started out as a couple of friends playing games in a bedroom loft, and now we’re here. The space is incredible and so’s the support we’ve had from the university. We’re hugely grateful that we’ve been given this opportunity.

“Already in the space of the two weeks that we’ve been here, we’ve levelled up everything that we’re doing, and it’s really helping us kick on and make more of a difference to more people. This really is a great place to help more people from across the Midlands fight social isolation and loneliness.”