When Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley jnr both showed up to watch Bruce Springsteen's recent concert at Belfast's Odyssey arena, the venue's reputation as a cross-community meeting point was cemented. For Londoner Nicky Dunn, chief executive of Belfast's flagship venue, it was all in a night's work.

Just days after she arrived in Belfast to take over the running of the 10,000-seat arena in December 2000, Dunn received a call from the Northern Ireland Office to say that then US president Bill Clinton wanted to use the new venue for a speaking engagement in five days. "It was quite an experience and a major logistical exercise, what with production, security and media requirements, but it was great for our profile," she says.

Since then the Odyssey has become home to Northern Ireland's first ice hockey team, hosted some of the world's top acts and bought a series of high profile conferences and exhibitions to the city.

After a small expected loss in the first year, the venue has been self financing. It was built with public money and is currently owned by the Odyssey Trust. It is operated by SMG, the company for which Dunn works, under a management contract. SMG is one of the largest venue operators in the world with 69 arenas, eight stadiums and 44 exhibition centres among other venues. At the Odyssey, SMG charges a management fee which is based on the venue's performance.

Dunn's office walls are filled with an enviable collection of photographs with some of the world's top entertainers but she says her job is much like running any business. "There's a different show every day so there are different legal issues, technical issues, marketing issues for me to deal with," she says.

She heads a permanent team of just 30 people but that figure swells to several 100 for a major show. An economic impact report has shown that the Odyssey creates the equivalent of 145 jobs and contributed over £10 million a year to the local economy, including 5,000 bed nights in hotels.

Concerts are by far the most lucrative events bringing in 54 per cent of income but account for just 32 days out of a total usage per year of 120 days for the arena. Ice hockey games, which can attract up to 5,000 people, account for up to 30 days. "All the other stuff is key for us. We're constantly on the lookout for new shows."

Last year, Dunn scored a big hit bringing the ABBA tribute show, Mamma Mia, to Belfast. "It made a huge difference to us. We had nearly 100,000 people coming through our doors for 29 performances."

The venue also notched up the largest ever conference in Northern Ireland last year when 5,000 delegates arrived for the Rotary conference.

The income mix and risk taken for each event varies. For example, the ice hockey games provide solid income but are far from the most lucrative. "We probably make the least out of ice hockey per day, partly because of the deal we give them and the fact that it's much lower capacity than for anything else we do. It's good for sponsorship and advertising revenue and it helps boost the number of people coming through the building.

"What's really amazing about the ice hockey is the way locals have got behind it. People in Northern Ireland love sport and they're family orientated, which is what we cater for. It's non-sectarian and we don't allow football tops," she added.

The arena also features an athletics track, and has hosted numerous other major sporting events including the world amateur boxing championships and the Supercross motor bike competition. "It keeps it really interesting for the team because there's so much variety."

Dunn started her career as an events co-ordinator at London Arena. She quickly moved up the ladder to operations director and then became involved with the commercial side. When London Arena went into receivership in 1991, Dunn was appointed the senior member of the management team by receivers PricewaterhouseCoopers. The arena was eventually bought by Dunn's current employer, SMG.

In the late 1990s she began travelling to Belfast to advise on the construction of the Odyssey. "At the time, there were only about three decent restaurants in the whole of Belfast."

Despite this she was keen to take the position of chief executive at the Odyssey. "I was number two at London and this was an opportunity to move up," she says.

The reaction on the ground was not always positive. "When I left London, the promoters over there told me I was going to a 'B' market. Major acts will go to places like Manchester, London or Dublin but they won't go to the B market.

"Very quickly after opening, we sold out a Westlife concert and Belfast is now on all the big tour schedules," Dunn says with some satisfaction.