Investment on point to attract big names
A Sunderland venue is undergoing £100,000 of investment as it aims to firmly stamp itself on the touring circuit.
Moving away from its roots as a night club, The Point has diversified in recent years to become a multi-purpose venue, hosting everything from sporting events such as boxing and MMA, to banquets and balls, and gigs by the likes of The Beautiful South, John Lydon’s PiL and DJs Roger Sanchez and Patrick Topping.
Now, as part of its ongoing drive to establish a muchneeded mid-size venue in the city centre, £100,000 has been invested in the lighting, sound system and structurally altering the site to increase its capacity as it gears up for one of its biggest years yet.
As well as a host of Ultra White Collar boxing and MM A charity events and high-profile balls, the venue is hosting top comedians Paul Smith and Johnny Vegas, and Spandau Ballet’s Martin Kemp who will be bringing his 80s party the venue.
Managing director Andrew Golding says they’re in talks to announce more big names for 2020.
“Newcastle has the O2 Academy and that’s the size of venue we aim to be for Sunderland,” he explained .“A lot of money was invested in this site when it opened as a nightclub, with £750,000 invested in light and sound alone.
“But we’ ve really invested in improving that further to reallyenhance the performances and establish ourselves as an arts and events space. You can’ t get big names to come without it.”
He added :“When it opened as a night club it was very much a super club, but times have changed. Thenight-timeeconomy has changed, there’s been a shift away from clubs, which is down to things like people’s disposable income and the fact that people are more health conscious. We needed to diversify in response to that and give people different choices of entertainment.”
As part of the structural work, a central mezzanine was removed, which increased the capacity from 250 people to 400 for a banquet; from 300 to 600 for theatre-style seating and up to 1,500 standing for a gig.
A portable stage also means the room can be altered according to the booking, while a new Green Room helps to cater for acts back stage.
The ongoing changes have led to a number of sold out nights at the venue, and Andrewsays the night time economy is picking up.