Sankeys head plans massive venue in Manchester

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    Tue, Jan 19, 2010, 09:50
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    Resident Advisor
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  • The veteran promoter is eying a warehouse space with capacity of 16,000.
  • Sankeys head plans massive venue in Manchester image
  • On December 23rd, David Vincent submitted a proposal to the Trafford City Council for a new venue called Stadium Point, located on the Quays, not far from the Imperial War Museum. If approved, Stadium Point will be an enormous warehouse space that can hold as many as 16,000 people for up to 24 hours at a time. The developer's brochure for the venue states, "We want to turn [Stadium Point] into the world's premiere standup Live and Electronic music entertainment venue which Trafford can be proud of in the same vein as the London O2." The project is estimated to cost around £5,000,000. Reached for comment, David Vincent told Resident Advisor: "Imagine we can do a live electronic show with someone like Daft Punk, a pop artist like Madonna or even a dance music festival. We are also looking to facilitate exhibitions, trade shows, the list is endless." At this point, it remains unclear whether Vincent's proposal will be approved or not. Though some residents feel that its location on the Quays could use a boost in tourism and nighttime economy, there is already a concerted effort to oppose the application by leaflet drop. Reached by phone in his office, local Labour councillor David Acton said that he feels "it's the wrong place to have it. We've not had [a venue] of this scale, with these numbers of people, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As the representative for the area, I'm very concerned about it, and in my opinion it shouldn't be approved." Though it is by far his biggest proposal yet, this isn't the first time Vincent has tried to set up a large warehouse venue in Manchester. In 2008, he submitted a proposal for a club called Labyrinth that would have held up to 2,500 people from 10 PM – 6 AM. The city ultimately rejected his proposal, as residents of the nearby Beetham Tower bemoaned the possibility of "bleating yuppie prats" swarming the area on their way to and from parties each weekend. Naturally, as Stadium Point would hold more than five times as many patrons, this project is already being met with intense resistance by nearby residents. Trafford's city council will finish receiving objections to the proposal on January 21st, and the matter should be decided sometime in February.
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