Is This Iconic Sydney Live Music Venue About To Reopen?

update: 

Blind Records owner Adrian Bull has ended speculation by confirming he has indeed purchased Sydney's iconic Hopetoun Hotel and plans to reopen the venue next year. 

Speaking to TMN, Bull said that some significant work on the venue must be undertaken before he can open its doors. 

"The upstairs accommodation is actually in pretty good condition but the bar is in complete disarray, and obviously the downstairs will just have to go and become storage I would think," Bull said.

"[…]The entire place needs to be rewired and re-set up to make everything safe for people - you only want people to be safe at shows.

"It’s a long-term goal and this entire process has only really just started."

Bull also stated his intention to reopen the Hopetoun as a live music venue, vowing to "fight the council" on it. 

"I can fight the council into the ground, it doesn’t mean I’ll win but I’ll certainly give it a shot," he said.

"[…] If what it turns out to be at the end of the day is just a pub, well, I'll sell it and walk away, because that’s not what I want."

"It’s great to think of as a nostalgic trip, but the idea is not to actually look back, just look forward and, really, Sydney deserves that place to be open," Bull concluded.

"Nobody else was going to [bring live music back to the Hoey] so why not?"

Speculation of the purchase ramped up on Facebook earlier this week, when Adrian Bull (of Blind Records) claimed that he bought the Surry Hills-based venue. 

Responding to a public post which claimed Bull had announced the purchase on his personal Facebook, Bull confirmed he had bought the hotel, writing "And I did".

Bull has also presumably confirmed that renovations will take place before the hotel reopens, though as to when that could be is anyone's guess right now. 

Read the thread below.

The Hopetoun, which was famous for hosting live music every day of the week, abruptly closed its doors in 2009.

This is not the first time that the Hopetoun was believed to have secured a new owner either, as celebrity chef Kylie Kwong was forced to deny she had purchased the venue in 2012.

The Music has contacted Bull for further comment.