Adelaide West End Association says it will be bad for Hindley St if soon to be vacated HQ Complex building sits empty for too long
It closed its doors abruptly this week – so what is the future for HQ’s Hindley St site?
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- HQ Complex nightclub on Hindley St closes down
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A traders’ group fears the state of Hindley St will decline unless a new operator quickly takes over the HQ Complex site.
Adelaide West End Association president Andrew Wallace hoped the purpose-built entertainment centre at 149 Hindley St would reopen as a new business venture, after it was announced HQ Complex would be shutting its doors for good.
“We are left with a large, purpose-designed venue and you would hope a new operator would take it on,” Mr Wallace said.
“If not, we could potentially have a problem because it could be difficult to lease.
“What would you do with the building?
“You would not like to see a building of that scale empty on Hindley St terribly long because that would be bad for that end of the street.”
The Advertiser reported on Tuesday that the nightclub, which had a capacity of 2300 people, had run into financial troubles and was shut last weekend without warning.
Disgruntled employees said they only learnt about the closure and job losses via social media.
The venue opened on Hindley St in October 2017 after shutting down its premises on North and West Tce the same year.
It spent $15 million on the relocation and became well known for hosting music gigs for both established and up-and-coming artists.
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Music SA chief executive Lisa Bishop said the performing arts community had to band together to ensure live music remained strong in the city.
She hoped the former nightclub would re-open as another live music venue.
“At the moment we have just got to continue to support other live music gigs and venues around town,” Ms Bishop said.
Eskimo Joe was scheduled to play at the venue later this month, with the band’s management sought for comment about the future of the show.
People with tickets to shows scheduled at the venue should contact the booking agency for more information.
