There’s a group on Facebook started by the former resident DJ of the Syndicate, Jason “Fubar” Barr, who says he will reveal by August – or if 10,000 people join his Facebook group – the location of an all-new 8500 capacity Multi Purpose Venue in Blackpool.
He claims that the venue will have two nightclubs, a concert arena, 10 different themed bars and a variety of restaurants and outlets. Apparently huge bands and the world’s best DJs are already lined up, and a “massive” new year’s programme will be announced soon.
My first reaction was “load of bollocks”, except Jason has repeatedly denied that it’s an April Fool’s joke. He has also steered people away from the Winter Gardens, claiming that the arena will rival the Empress Ballroom. For a project of this scale, I’m surprised that if it is indeed real, it has been kept under wraps.
Mr Barr has denied reports that it will be constructed in the sea and given the capacity and the timescales he has given for it being open one presumes it must be an existing building.
We already know that the council are gearing up the Tower Festival Headland to be an arena of sorts that is capable of hosting 20,000 revellers, and the word “multi-function” is used in their business plan;
“A new multi-function outdoor venue for such scale of events as the Illuminations Switch On and Tour of Britain cycle race is seen as the key supporting component of the events programme with space for up to 20,000 spectators and flexibility for small and major outdoor events. It will work with the local indoor theatre and concert venues (the Tower, Grand Theatre, Winter Gardens and North Pier) to create an “inland pier” which will link the Tower Festival Headland to the more traditional indoor venues.”
We also know that Merlin Entertainments Group has said the following;
The first of the new attractions in the Tower complex is scheduled to open later in the year
So, is DJ Fubar having a laugh with us, or has anyone else heard anything about this? Is it something to do with the Tower Festival Headland or the recent acquisition of the Winter Gardens and Tower?
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I have spoken with a very prominent national music journalist/promoter who tells me he is working with Blackpool Council on a hush hush project so it could be tied in with this! I’m seeing him again over the weekend so I’ll squeeze it out of him!
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I’ll hold you to that!
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If this isn’t an April Fools joke then it could be just what Blackpool so needs. I paid a visit to Liverpool today to have a nostalgic look around Lewis’s which closes this Summer for good and it is just such a fabulous city with exciting developments going on everywhere, Blackpool has always lost out. Please don’t let this be an April Fools. If it is true I shall make more effort to visit the Syndicate more often on nights out.
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If it is indeed true (I certainly hope so!!!) I just hope it doesn’t fall foul of the stupid saturation policy. I may have to write an article on that.
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bring it on TB!
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I like the idea of a Arena,but do we really need more bars and restaurants in the town, all that will happen is that visitors and locals alike will stay under the one roof, which will force other parts of the town into decay,with closures resulting in job losses,I would have thought that there would be enough profit involved in running this alone, if they attract the right bands to fill it to capacity,without the need to open more pubs,after all the MEN does well and they only open the bars at the start and intervals,so the the rest of business in Manchester get a share of the clientel. If the same was to happen here then this would assist the existing bars and restaurants in Blackpool to get busier so that they can reinvest in there business to make them smarter.
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When I first read about this MPV the word “Printworks” came into my head. Except with an arena attached to it.
I’m not sure the demand is there at this moment especially given that it’s competing with the council’s own 20,000 arena thing that they want to do on South Promenade. Unless, of course, this is part of that, because apparently the council are involved in it.
If you think about it, there aren’t that many nice bars in Blackpool. In fact I’d go further and say there aren’t any. The only one I’d say was remotely civilised is Gillespie’s on Topping Street, but it’s far from perfect.
The bars in Blackpool tend to get run down quite quickly because of the type of people that frequent them, particularly in the holiday season. As as result they tend to stay in a pretty crap state, which puts people like myself off going in them.
Door policies need to be looked at and enforced properly, rather than the council always blaming someone else and saying it’s 2 for 1 drinks promos. It’s not, it’s the fact that people who may be aggressive when sober are allowed to get obliterated and continue drinking.
Sorry I’ve gone off on one now, oops.
My impression was that the bars in this scheme are independent from the arena and they will be open for business during normal social hours.
We can only speculate I guess.
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Philtheone, I not sure that I would want to sit on the new Tower headland watching a band playing whilst the wind is howling from the west, and pissing it down with rain,I would much rather go to the MEN which is indoors. I just thought the old Mecca building on Church St has been empty for years and a lot of the shops on the seafront of this building are empty,could this be part of the plan,have the concerts on the headland then divert everyone after the concert to this area.
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I agree Dave, it seems a bit of an odd one for them to want to try to push an outdoor venue in a place that for the most part isn’t clear blue skies, bright sunshine and still wind.
But they have!
Having said that, crap weather doesn’t stop people going to the various outdoor festivals around the UK every year (but they are admittedly a lot larger than 20,000 people).
The old Mecca could be part of it, especially as you say because it’s been empty for ages. But you’d have thought if this project was a goer, we’d have seen something going on around there by now.
The business plan for the Tower Festival Headland does suggest having an “inland pier” which sounds like it’s going to be under cover, and it’s meant to link the arena area to the tower buildings….
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I can think of nice bars in Blackpool; The Green Parrot seems like a very upmarket bar, I have still yet to visit but I have heard good things and there are some excellent nightclubs which are nothing like the negative stereotypes peddled by the anti-Blackpool brigade. As I mention in my ‘Quality or Quantity article’ I regularly frequent Blackpool at night and it is relatively trouble-free; Flares is a very friendly club, Che Bar and Coco are civilised places, The Litten Tree is a very civilised place and The Tache Rock Club is one of the friendliest clubs I have ever been to, don’t be put off by its gritty rock image. I am only speaking from my personal experience but I feel there is plenty of good nitespots in Blackpool. But I do agree there is a lack of quality bars as most of the places I mention are clubs/pubs not really bars. I do agree there are some not so nice places like the Tower Lounge and The Underbar which seem to be stag/hen hangouts. But a fantastic concept bar I saw in Printworks on my last visit to Manchester was a bar called Illusions which is a classy adult magic and live entertainment bar. We do have a magic bar at the former site of Howitt’s dive of a bar. But it is miles away from the town centre and it doesn’t really strike me as a high-quality sort of place, but an improvement on its predecessor none the less.
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“Door policies need to be looked at and enforced properly, rather than the council always blaming someone else and saying it’s 2 for 1 drinks promos. It’s not, it’s the fact that people who may be aggressive when sober are allowed to get obliterated and continue drinking.”
The drinks industry in Blackpool has brought this on their own heads, I agree entirely Phil.
The idiot mentality need to be shut out and made to join the Labour party, lol
I am led to believe that in the old days, land lodrs would refuse to serve you if you were drunk and behaving badly,I have never ever seen that occur.
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The law says you can’t serve someone who seems drunk.
I tested this out last weekend in a bar called Revolution in Manchester.
I got bladdered on beers, shots and 2-for-1 cocktails. I had no problem getting served and getting more. But then I went outside to make a phone call. The bouncer wouldn’t let me back in as he said I was too pissed.
So, their policy is still law breaking. I was drunk, but they served me, however their door policy stops people that are already drunk getting in.
I challenge you to find a bar in Blackpool that (a) doesn’t serve drunk people and (b) prevents drunk people getting in.
I’m off to West Coast Rock Cafe in a bit to test them out.
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Dont get too pissed mate! lol
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Philtheone
April 2, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Great Market Research in Manchester.
Going Back to thread
The only venue could be The Palatine Buildings
Palace
Linakers
Promenade Gym
Klub DNA
Jellies
It seems to have gone very quite on the new palace tennents ?
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The guy that started the Facebook group says it’s not there!
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Talbot Road bus station has been suggested
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The Palace is the setting for the exciting new Sands Venue, but as you rightly point out Shoggy there is all those all other empty units; Klub DNA, Jellies, the Gym and Linekers. It would be the ideal location, it makes use of all those derelict units in the Palatine Buildings and would blend in perfectly with the Sands Venue. I also thought of Talbot Rd bus station Phil, that does seem quite feasible.
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now thats an idea, turning the bus station into a night club?
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Next Guess
Superbowl above Brannigans
But not enough fire exits !
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Apparantly cant be talbot gateway area E.g Bus Station as its technically a listed building and cant be altered?
If im wrong please ignore this but im sure i read it in the gazette not so long ago
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I am not sure if it ‘listed’ but unfortunately the eyesore that is Talbot Rd Bus Station is being preserved much to the dismay of most of Blackpool, me included. It is being saved as a cost-cutting measure. But I am intrigued to know where this venue could be, it sounds like a very ambitious and exciting plan and I sincerely hope it materialises, however I went on Facebook yesterday and the date has now changed to 2011.
On another slightly related note; I notice JD Wetherspoon has applied for planning permission to build a two-storey pub on the vacant site on Market St, this could hopefully be the long-awaited Lloyds No.1 the Gasjet said was ‘shelved’.
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