Venues: New Precincts, Acquisitions, Ouch! Moments, Rows, New Arrivals & More

BYRON TRIALS SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT 

Byron Bay is set to become the first NSW regional area to trial a Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP) to promote and preserve its nightlife.

Byron Shire Council was one of six state regional councils to throw its hat in the ring to try out a SEP, and was given a Kickstart Grant of $162,800 from the NSW Government to consult businesses and the community on proposed new operating hours and noise rules.

The designated area is bounded by beachfront Bay Street, Johnson Street, the rail corridor, and Middleton and Browning Streets. Pubs, performance spaces and restaurants will be future-proofed as a nightlife hub, including the Backroom at the Great Northern Hotel, the Beach Hotel and The Rails.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with the Council to continue to enhance Byron’s nightlife offering,” said the Great Northern’s co-owner, Justin Coleman.

Venues in the SEP will be protected from noise whingers, can trade two hours later without going through expensive and time-consuming applying for new development, have an 80 per cent slashing of liquor licence fees if they offer live gigs, and can stage more diverse performances.

Things soured for Byron venues from 2013 after the New Year’s Eve celebration boosted numbers to 15,000, with violence and rubbish leading to reduced trading hours and limited liquor supply for venues.

But Byron Mayor Sarah Ndiaye (Greens) is excited about the future, saying, “With so much change over the past few years, this funding comes at the right time to support fresh ideas, local jobs and a safe, inclusive after-dark culture.”

NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham noted, "A night out in Byron Bay has been a special part of the lives of so many people, whether they are locals to the area or visitors getting a taste of North Coast NSW.”

He also had some good news: "I am delighted by the level of interest from councils across Sydney and NSW, and in response, we have increased the funding pool to over $1.94 million, so more councils can establish SEPs in the coming months."

NSW’s first SEP was made permanent on Enmore Road in December 2023. It was a success, and Burwood and Fairfield committed to following.

NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues and his team spoke to council and businesses in Broken Hill in April, and next month, they are in the Riverina Murray and the Northern Rivers, including speaking at the Local Government NSW Destination & Visitor Economy annual conference (May 26-28).

ADELAIDE VENUES MOVE TO NSW OWNER

Adelaide music venues The Bridgeway Hotel in Pooraka, The Lakes Hotel in West Lakes and The Maid Hotel in Magill are heading to the roster of NSW hospitality business, Oscars Group, as part of its expansion into Adelaide. 

They were owned by Fahey Hotel Group, which continues to run a range of places like the Exter.

The Bridgeway, opened in the ‘60s, attained legendary status as a launching pad for Cold Chisel, The Angels and AC/DC.

REPORT: MORE VENUES USING ENTERTAINMENT

One of the takeaways from Quantaco’s FY25 Q3 report is that hospitality venues are spending 25 per cent more on entertainment to increase their revenue streams. 

Quantaco’s Mitchell Stone said, as per PubTIC, “The data shows operators are getting smarter about using entertainment to drive foot traffic and sales. This investment, combined with effective labour management, is helping venues overcome inflationary pressures.”

The report showed that, despite financial headwinds, the sector grew 10 per cent, with upticks from gaming, operational efficiency, food and beverage, and successful passing on costs to patrons to maintain their margins.

PLANS TO REVIVE NEWMARKET DROPPED

Plans for the return of Adelaide’s Newmarket Hotel have been dropped. Situated on the corner of North and West terraces, it was a punk and metal mecca until it closed in 2017.

Since then, it has been severely vandalised and the grand circular staircase thrashed.

Australian Unity bought the site two years ago for $38.5 million to build a high-rise medical development that would have included a revitalisation of the hotel. This week, the company decided to sell the site.

Meanwhile, anyone hoping Fat Controller might return a year after it closed is in for the blues. The Northern Terrace site is to be transformed into a giant karaoke bar called K-Box Adelaide. It is for 300 people across 900 sq m of space with 16 private rooms and five solo booths.

TEAM UPS

Naming Rights For Joondalup Oval

Perth’s 12,500-capacity sports and entertainment Joondalup Oval is now the HIF Health Insurance Oval after Health Insurance Fund of Australia (HIF) signed a three-year naming rights deal with West Perth Football Club. The dollar value of the deal is not known, but it will include wellness initiatives to increase engagement with fans and local residents.

Music South East Project

This collaboration between MusicSA and the City of Mount Gambier will, over May and June, see six emerging acts from two states play two regional tours to find new audiences.

Called Coast To Coast, they will land at Mount Gambier’s The Globe, The Crown and Anchor in Adelaide, and The Penny Black in Victoria.

Going Goth At The Warehouse

The revived Warehouse in Townsville will, alongside its bands, host a goth culture “alternamarket” stall on the first Sunday afternoon of each month. The Darkcide Emporium, run by Debbie Graves Van Zandt, will stock goth music, clothes, flowers, jewellery and coffins.

Warehouse booker Tim Pellegrino came up with the concept of stalls with live music.

NRMA Insurance At Adelaide Oval

Adelaide Oval announced NRMA Insurance as its Official Major Partner, leading to its Southern Plaza being renamed NRMA Insurance Plaza. Usher and stadium tour ambassador uniforms are refreshed, and the concierge desk is rebranded to the NRMA Insurance Help Desk, highlighting the insurer’s role as ‘A Help Company’.

Bankwest Renews RAC Arena Partnership

Bankwest and Perth’s RAC Arena have again extended their partnership, which was first struck in 2017 as a Founding Partner.

The bank’s customers get a 10 per cent discount for food and beverages, money-can’t-buy experiences, VIP experiences with Bankwest Best Seats and, most recently, “Skip the Queue for themselves and a friend at Entry A when they show their Bankwest MasterCard.”

NSW NIGHT TIME ECONOMY GROWS

The latest quarterly report from the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner’s Dark After Dark platform showed that the state’s night time economy continues to grow.

Covering the December 2024 quarter, night time public transport recorded 38.5 million Opal tap-offs (up 1.4 per cent year on year), people made 512 million trips (up 7.7 per cent from previous quarter), in person spending rose 17.1 per cent to $4.26 billion from the last quarter, and an extra 366 businesses arrived since December 2023 covering leisure, food and drinks.

ANOTHER ROW OVER GOLD COAST ARENA

Another row broke out over the Gold Coast Arena. This time, it’s after an assessor informed Council that 18,000 seats (up from 12,000) will take up the entire width of Carey Park in Southport.

This has caused a kerfuffle among residents who’ve fought to shove the indoor arena out of Carey Park to the larger scale Carrara or to Eleanor Perkins Park, which is deemed a more suitable location at the doorstep of the light rail.

Mayor Tom Tate and some GC councillors are keen to build the half-a-billion-dollar arena to draw music and sports superstars and inject $700 million into its economy over ten years.

OUCH!

* Brisbane’s long-awaited fifth theatre, built at QPAC, South Brisbane, with 1,500 seats, has blown out of its budget from $150 million to $184 million, not helped by a three-and-a-half-year delay. The Courier Mail estimated that at $122,000 per seat, it is more schmancy than Victoria Park Stadium’s $60,000 per seat.

* Two security bouncers working at the Lookout in Scarborough, WA, were sacked after being allegedly caught on camera roughing up a patron. They were trying to evict him from the dancefloor after he allegedly threw water on it and kicked the H20 around. They face Perth Magistrates Court on May 26.

* Events at Redland Performing Arts Centre (Brisbane) were cancelled for 20 days after mould was found on four chairs in the concert hall, on the roofs of the green room and bar and in the basement and technical offices. It was waterlogged during ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

* Victoria Hotel in Shepparton, which hosts bands on weekends, copped a $7,500 fine with no conviction after pleading guilty in Shepparton Magistrate’s Court to serving alcohol to minors.

* The sold-out return to action on Saturday, May 3, of Soul House Social in Aldinga, Adelaide, ran into problems earlier this week when Onkaparinga Council tapped it on its shoulder to say it had no planning approval yet. The venue clarified this weekend’s bash was just a private affair, and the “real” band debut was in mid-May.

* Adelaide’s Woolshed on Hindley defended an incident when groups of First Nations patrons who’d paid to be in the express line. According to the Advertiser, they were pulled out of the line by security, who gave them no reason but said it was a management decision. 

The patrons said they were treated badly by security and cited racism. But management insisted the club provides a safe and inclusive venue for all people, and attributed the incident to “where management reserves the right to refuse entry in accordance with licensing obligations and crowd safety management, particularly on high-pressure nights.”

TASMANIA’S CHALLENGE FOR EVENTS

Tasmania wants to attract more major events and opened a $5 million Event Attraction Fund. Up to $750,000 is available for a promoter in 2025, 2026 and 2027. They must demonstrate that more than 400 participants will travel to Tasmania for the event. The deadline is May 31, unless exhausted earlier. More info is here.

ALL MY PEOPLE RIGHT NOW

Elixir Music House, Cairns

After eight years of supporting original music, owners Sky Rixon and father Bill Shields may have to turn off the lights.

The landlord wants to sell the building. The Elixir Music House and upstairs Melting Pot need to come up with $1.5 million in three months to buy the place and keep the operations running.

This is on top of the fact they’ve got “a neighbour from hell” complaining about the noise and a 964 per cent rise in insurance. The music industry and community have formed 4 Hearts Creative Collective (4HCC) to head up fundraising efforts, while acts have done their own benefits. The crowdfunding page is here.

Freo​.​Social Petition A Success

The campaign began in February by Fremantle’s Freo.Social on Change.org has been a success. After getting  6,457 signatures, organisers have upped the target to 7,500.

This gives it more muscle in persuading the City of Fremantle “to move quickly to implement policies that support the coexistence of commercial businesses and music venues, ensuring that Fremantle remains a thriving cultural destination.”

Freo.Social’s future is already on the block “due to noise restrictions associated with new neighbouring hotel developments, despite having sought protections from the City of Fremantle since 2019.” But venue owners say the issue is about protecting all the city’s venues from facing closure.

HI WE’RE BACK, DIDJA MISS US?

Cruise Bar, Sydney

Christopher Cheung’s hospitality group C!NC’s is in early May, bringing back the harbourside Cruise Bar after months of extensive renovations. These include a roster of DJs and Melba’s Rooftop taking over the entire top floor for conferences and ticketed special events taking in front-row views of the Opera House.

Queenscliff Brewhouse

Historic music showcasing Queenscliff Brewhouse, opposite the seaside town’s Princess Park, returns to action in September under new owner Australian Venue Co (AVC).

AVC, which bought the property last year and is auctioning it off this month with a 10-year lease, also runs 235 venues, including Geelong’s Eureka, Melbourne’s the Esplanade and Prince of Wales, and Albury’s The Bended Elbow.

Arq/Arca, Sydney

Long time Darlinghurst queer night pit Arq which collapsed this year after pulling back trading to one night a week, is returning in June as Arca.

It will be under the steam of nightclub veteran David Auld, of Noir, Seadeck and Oasis fame. A new upgraded sound system will be part of the new appeal.

LGBTI+ promoters take over on Fridays, but other nights are for house and Latin promoters. Full details are due just before the reopening.

Bar Freda’s, Sydney

Bar Freda’s officially opened at its new Chippendale digs last week with a three-day bash, with DJs from its past (or familiar with its heritage) playing Fridays and Saturdays. 

David Abram and Carla Uriarte set up in a two-level terrace linked to The Abercrombie, where Lil Sis used to be. The mirror ball vibe and bar stools were from their OG warehouse bar in Chippendale, 600 metres down the road, and Darlinghurst’s Cafe Freda’s.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

ICC Sydney

ASM Global’s ICC Sydney promoted Marc Singerling to Director of Event Delivery. He was Food and Beverage Services Manager for nine years, and signals a greater innovation in customer experiences in live music, meetings, conferences, exhibitions and banquets.

Brisbane Powerhouse

Brisbane Powerhouse’s new Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Louise Bezzina, takes over at the end of October after she finishes delivering her sixth Brisbane Festival.

Bezzina founded the Gold Coast’s Bleach Festival and Co-Creative Lead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games Cultural Program.  

NINE NEW STARTS & END OF ERAS

* A month after the ker-put of the Pink Flamingo on the Gold Coast with debts of $1.96 million, liquidator Jason Bettles of Worrells has put it on the market. He’s hoping a single buyer will take over the assets, including the purpose-built 364-seat theatre Spiegel Pavilion with the VIP Platinum Lounge and the pink-furnished Pink Lounge, which was used for after-parties.

* After a 10-month stand-off with local authorities, the Steyne in Manly, beachside Sydney, this week finally got the go-ahead for its $8 million makeover. Bars and stairs will be upgraded, eight new rooms added, and measures introduced, especially in the beer garden, to ensure live acts don’t disturb neighbours.

* Work has started on the $309 million Penrith Stadium redevelopment in western Sydney. The multipurpose venue will host up to 10 concerts a year, with a concert capacity of up to 30,000.

* The City of Launceston Council approved the $130 million redevelopment of the 19,500-capacity UTAS Stadium, to include more seats, a new stand, modern backstage amenities, corporate spaces, improved food and beverage outlets, and enhanced pedestrian access for its sports, entertainment and community events.

* Canberra region winery-turned-awards-winning music and events venue (30 concerts a year), Tallagandra Hill, is on the market after owners David Faulks and Mary McAvoy decided on a change of life.

* Country music hoe-down Shady Pines Saloon in Darlinghurst, Sydney, poured last drinks in late April due to the Oxford & Foley building project.

* The Melbourne CBD got a new underground techno venue, Asahara Club, with its stated mission “to keep the underground alive.”

* Sydney-based Redcape Hotel Group shelled out $220 million buying the Maeva Hospitality Hotel Group on the Sunshine Coast, whose ten assets included Bli Bli Hotel, Baringa Tavern, Parklands Tavern and Brightwater Hotel.

* Western Sydney’s massive Oran Park 7,500sqm $50 million “mega-precinct” with multiple dining and bar offerings is a boon for live acts. They’re booked every Friday and Saturday, complete with the Entertainment Lounge for music, dancing, and games.