Venues Update: December 9

CAFÉ DEL MAR CHOOSING PERTH LOCATION

Ibiza club brand Cafe del Mar’s second Australian venue will be in Perth, following its opening of an outlet in Sydney’s Darling Harbour in 2013 (pictured).

This week, Cafe del Mar Managing Director Anthony Leenders and Chief Executive John Zappia were checking out Rockingham (the foreshore), Fremantle (the Woolstores shopping centre redevelopment) and Scarborough (a new swimming poo being built near the beach). Already knocked back are Elizabeth Quay, Cottesloe and Hillarys Boat Harbour.

The 1500-capacity café will open next year, with international DJs to be booked. WA was chosen partly for its picturesque waterfront locations and stunning sunsets, and partly because the State Government is putting tourism as a priority after the end of the mining boom.

A third Australian venue is planned to open in Melbourne in 2019.

NEW SYDNEY STADIUM TO SEAT 30,000

Construction work LandLease will begin work next year on Sydney’s sports and entertainment stadium, in Parramatta for a 2019 opening. It will have the steepest stands of any Australian stadium, allowing fans to get closest to the action. 1200 construction jobs and 900 ongoing jobs will be created.

NSW Premier Mike Baird described the project and other investments in new and old stadiums totalling $1.6 billion as “the biggest investment in sporting and entertainment infrastructure since the 2000 Olympics”.

GASLIGHT INN CHANGES HANDS

Gaslight Inn, a popular Sydney music venue in the Oxford Street precinct has been bought by Sam Arnaout’s Iris Capital. It is adjacent to the Colombian Hotel which the group bought in October for $18 million.

ADELAIDE OVAL BECOMES FRINGE VENUE

Adelaide Oval becomes one of Adelaide Fringe’s 300 venues for the first time. Seven stages will be set up inside and outside through the complex to host 350 events. One will be built with scaffolding so patrons can watch from the northern grandstand over the playing field.

More show hubs will also be set up outer suburbs as Elizabeth and Port Adelaide and regionals as Mt Gambier and Port Noarlunga.

CAIRNS VENUE OWNERS CALL FOR LOCKOUT DELAY

The Cairns Safe Night Precinct representing many of the city’s nightclub and music venues has lodged an application with the Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath. It is asking her to defer the introduction of the second part of the state’s lockout laws, in two months, to defer the move by 12 months. Venue owners say they need more time to adapt new business practices as limited trading hours kick in.

Venue owners say they are getting angsty about a lack of details from the Government on how their establishments will be affected. The venues are still divided as to whether Cairns should get a 3 am close with a 1 am lockout, or a 2 am close with no lockout.

SELL OUTS AT TARONGA ZOO

Some of the shows at this summer’s Twilight At Taronga season at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, have started to sell out already.

Second shows have been added for The Rubens & Bec Sandridge (Thursday Feb 2), Jet (Feb 19), Bjorn Again (Feb 24). Kurt Vile & Mick Turner (March 3), and The Living End and guests (March 4).

This week saw the Feb 11 date by Ball Park Music & The Jungle Giants put out the Sold Out sign.

THE STEYNE GETS ‘STRIKE’ AND FINES

Sydney live music establishment The Steyne in Manly has paid dearly for allowing four 17-year old girls to drink there last year. Initially Initially Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) closed it for a week in July over the incident, and no conviction was recorded by the magistrate court.

But But the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed under the Liquor Act, and got a stricter penalty. It’s now been hit with a “first strike” and fined $5700 by the District Court. If the hotel goes on get three strikes within the next three years, it can lose its licence. During this period, it must pay a “compliance risk loading” fine of $3000 a year and a “patron capacity loading” of $8000 a year.

Venue co-owner Arthur Laundy said told Fairfax Media, “I’m so shattered, I’m so disappointed. You try hard and one blemish in eight years and this is the result.” The AHA NSW called the penalty “grossly unfair” given how well the venue has been run.

UB 40 NZ NYE SHOW HITS PATCH

New Zealand fans of UB40 planning to hail in 2017 at their New Year’s Eve Reggae by the River show in Taupo. It was to have run between 4pm to 10 pm. But police raised concern about what would happen with fans hanging out in the two hours between the end of the show and the arrival of the New Year, fireworks that the show had its time changed to between midday and 6 pm.

FORMER PERTH NIGHTCLUB OWNER PROHIBITED

In 2009, the WA Liquor Commission cancelled the licence of the Rock nightclub in Perth’s Northbridge (based partly on confidential police information) while its owner Nunzio La Bianca became the first n the state to be hit with a Prohibition banning him from being employed by a licensed premises for five years.

Now La Bianca has discovered he’s also been prohibited from entering licenced venues, PerthNow reported. He’s been attending Mt. Lawley’s Malt Supper Club for the past six years. But recently its new management told him it had been advised by police not to let him in.

La Bianca told PerthNow he spent $950,000 on legal fees in a failed attempt to quash the order and find out what confidential information police had that closed his venue.

STEYNE, PROUD MARY, WINS AT AHA AWARDS

Among the winners at the Australian Hospitality Association NSW awards for excellence were Hotel Steyne in Manly for Best Live Music, while Proud Mary’s at the Sunken Monkey Hotel took out Best Nightclub/ Nightlife Venue. The awards were held before 1200 guests at the Star Sydney, with 600 nominations spread across a record 42 nominations.

HUDSON BALLROOM CELEBRATES FIRST B’DAY

The Hudson Ballroom in Sydney celebrates its first birthday after a successful rebranding, with a bash. Taking place on Saturday Dec 17 the free event takes place from 9 pm with a huge array of DJs. The club also ‘Rhythm of the Night New Years Eve’ party would focus on DJs spinning ‘90s dance and R’n’B.

AEG OGDEN RE-APPOINTED FOR BCEC

The Queensland Government has re-appointed major South Australian, Asian and Middle East venue operator AEG Ogden as managers of the award winning Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) for five year period from July 1, 2017, together with a five year option. It has managed the venue since its opening in 1995. The BCEC was voted The World’s Best Convention Centre by the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC), in July 2016.

During 21 years, BCEC has hosted 18,000 events and 14 million guests delivering $3.87 billion in economic benefit to Queenslanders. It already has confirmed 1400 bookings go up to 2029, with n added economic benefit of $1 billion.