The Star makes ‘tough call’ to close iconic Sydney nightclub Marquee this year

Ten years after opening with much fanfare and bringing a slew of high profile celebrity patrons through the door, The Star’s Marquee nightclub is set to close.

The Star’s incoming leadership is wasting no time setting a new direction for the business with Marquee nightclub to close after 10 years of operation.

As The Star awaits the outcome of the Bell review that has their casino licence under scrutiny, new Sydney boss Scott Wharton is taking the chance to review operations across the Pyrmont property.

And it appears a demographic older than the nightclub crowd is what they have in mind as they prepare to build a new six-star hotel and add a further two theatres.

Wharton, chief executive officer of The Star Sydney, has told Confidential there have been challenges operating the venue as a nightclub.

“Incidents and issues have surfaced at times and that creates additional pressures to meet the standards we expect of ourselves,” he said.

US DJ Kaskade performed at Marquee Nightclub in 2011.

Redfoo of LMFAO at Marquee in 2013. Picture: Craig Wilson

“We have a good, long-standing relationship with the owners of the Marquee brand. They are an excellent partner and we will discuss doing more with them in premium hospitality.

“In this instance, it’s about looking at other food and beverage options that will further enhance The Star Sydney as a world-class tourism and entertainment destination.”

Models (from left) Hayley Sing, Nadia Fairfax, Tash Jones and Flynn Evans attend Marquee shortly after its opening.

A decade later, the club which opened with much fanfare will close.

Wharton said it was expected Marquee would close later in the year and the redeployment of any impacted staff would be a top priority.

“It’s a tough call to make but if we’re going to earn back the trust and confidence of stakeholders, we need to assess and react accordingly on how we run our operations.”

He said future plans for the venue would be announced in due course.

Marquee first opened its doors with much fanfare in 2012 and went on to see some of the world’s biggest name artists perform there, including Calvin Harris, Bruno Mars, Tiesto, Kascade, Drake, Post Malone and Armin Van Buuren.

Hollywood celebrities to have partied there include Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and Chace Crawford.