Byron Bay bar made famous by Matt Damon renovated

Its TAB screens have had punters cheering for years and even formed the backdrop of a movie star’s viral interview. But now big changes have been unveiled at a humble Byron sports bar.

A sports bar that went viral thanks to Hollywood star Matt Damon has had a makeover.

The Park Hotel in Suffolk Park reopened its sports bar at the weekend with a new look.

The popular venue went global in June when movie star Matt Damon gave an interview on US breakfast program Today to discuss “Bennifer” — the rumours about Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reigniting their romance.

The actor was in Australia filming Chris Hemsworth’s Marvel flick, Thor: Love and Thunder, alongside the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Natalie Portman, Russell Crowe and Tessa Thompson.

Park Hotel owner Tony Farrell (right) has unveiled renovations to the sports bar of his Suffolk Park pub. Picture: Javier Encalada

Park Hotel owner Tony Farrell said he and his wife originally planned the makeover to be completed last year, but the pandemic delayed their plans.

He said the changes were not only cosmetic — a new tapping system allowed the bar to have 16 beers on tap.

“The benefit for our clients is that it’s the most modern system available, so the beer comes out cold, not gassy, and with a much wider variety of beers on offer,” he said.

The sports bar can hold up to 75 people under the one person per 4sq m Covid rule.

The new sports bar and the hotel reopened on Saturday and rejoined the bottle shop as part of the normal operations at the facility.

The new bar offers a private function area that can be separated from the bar for birthday or corporate functions.

Park Hotel owner Tony Farrell has unveiled renovations to the sports bar of his Suffolk Park pub. Picture: Javier Encalada

The screens will remain offering different sports and TAB facilities will be online from Wednesday.

Some timber from the former bar was reused as benching as a memento of the original setting.

Mr Farrell said his 54 staff are back at work, although patrons were only Byron locals, loyal to the popular pub.

“What we would like to see is restrictions lifted in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney so we could see people come to our beautiful area,” he said.

“We hope to be really busy, and if not, we know how to cater for locals.”

Mr Farrell said Matt Damon would be welcome back anytime to use the new bar as a set for any international interviews.

He said the Hollywood star asked him to use the old sports bar for the interview late at night.

“His internet connection was a bit funny at home so he asked if he could do it live, it was at 10pm at night here, but we did it and he was very grateful,” he said.