The Syndicate was a superclub and music venue in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was the largest nightclub in North West England, and claimed to be the largest nightclub in the United Kingdom. The club opened in December 2002 and had at the time of closing, three levels of floor space, three segmented rooms, and a VIP floor. It had a capacity of 5,000 if including the club 'status', which was part of the building but was advertised as a second nightclub in the earlier years. Otherwise, the capacity was 4,500, with a 2,200 capacity in the downstairs section, and a 2,300 capacity in the higher levels.[1][2]
The higher floors were tiered, with the VIP section being at the top of the tier overlooking a balcony section below which itself overlooked the dancefloor. The dance floor area had a revolving dance floor in the middle of it. This whole upper section of floors was a single open space and was named the 'Dance Arena'.
History
Empire and Hippodrome
The site was originally occupied by the Empire variety theatre and ballroom that was designed by John Dent Harker and opened on 4 July 1895. It was renamed the Hippodrome in 1900 and used as a circus, but ten years later was converted to a cinema.[3][4]
ABC Theatre
The former Hippodrome Theatre was bought by Associated British Cinemas (ABC) in April 1929. They planned to rebuild it in 1939, which was halted by the outbreak of World War II. The old theatre closed in 1960. Most of the building was then demolished and the new ABC Theatre was built in the shell of the old building with stalls and circle seating with a capacity of 1,934. It also had a permanent revolving stage.[5]
In January 1981, the theatre closed and was converted into a triple screen cinema which reopened on 30 April 1981, although the revolving stage was retained together with the orchestra pit, original proscenium and front stalls and dressing rooms, though hidden behind the screens. The circle was used for one screen with the stalls divided into two screens.[5][7]
It was renamed the Cannon Cinema in 1986, the MGM Cinema in May 1993[5] before reverting to the ABC name. It closed as a cinema in July 2000.
The Syndicate
The ABC building was bought in the summer of 2001 for about £4million by local entrepreneurs Mike and Sandra Nordwind and converted into the Syndicate nightclub. It opened in December 2002, with none of the original interior remaining.[5][8]
The club was closed for a month in October 2005 when it lost its late night drinks licence in court, after Blackpool Police had presented a dossier of alleged violence at the club, which magistrates decided was so serious they withdrew the licence to sell alcohol after 11:00 pm. The club re-opened on 26 November after agreeing to withdraw their application for a new 4 am licence.[9]
After the club closed in January 2006 following the refusal of a 4am licence,[10] it was bought in May by national operator Nexum Leisure who undertook a £1m refurbishment of the venue.[1] In June 2007 the venue launched a weekly Polish Night (Polska Noc) aimed at the resorts Polish and Eastern European population.[11]
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